Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Yancey met on February 18, 1861, as Davis was starting to put together the executive branch of the government. Yancey turned down a cabinet position, but indicated he would be interested in a diplomatic post. Don Doyle argues that Davis displayed "tone deafness" in appointing Yancey, who was "ignorant of the world" and himself realized that he was "wholly unsuited by experience and personality for diplomacy." However, Davis feared that Yancey would be a political opponent, and wanted him out of the country.