Trump’s IQ challenge

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has challenged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to “compare IQ tests,” delivering a sharp-edged ribbing that has thrown a spotlight on a seemingly shaky relationship with his top diplomat.

The White House insisted the President was only joking.

Mr Trump issued the challenge in an interview with Forbes magazine, when asked about reports that Mr Tillerson (pictured) called him a “moron” after a classified briefing earlier in the year.

The President responded that if the claim was true, the two should duke it out in a battle of brainpower.

“And I can tell you who is going to win,” Mr Trump said.

The White House and the State Department suggested the President was simply trying to make light of what they describe as inaccurate reports of tension.

Mr Trump’s comments threaten to undermine Mr Tillerson’s diplomatic initiatives and sow confusion among allies and foes over whether he speaks for the US and has the support of the White House.

That uncertainty could impact a number of foreign policy crises, including the Iran nuclear pact, and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.