Tillerson calls Trump a ‘moron’, keeps job

UNITED STATES: Rex Tillerson called a rare press conference yesterday to deny that he had been on the brink of resigning as US secretary of state during the summer, but he demurred when asked if it was true that he had called President Donald Trump ‘‘a moron’’.

‘‘The vice-president [Mike Pence] has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving this post,’’ Tillerson said.

The hastily arranged news conference came after NBC News reported that Tillerson, a Texan former oil executive, had grown so frustrated with Trump over the summer that he had been at the point of quitting.

Tillerson said of Trump: ‘‘He loves this country. He puts Americans and America first. He’s smart.

‘‘He demands results wherever he goes and he holds those around him accountable.’’

However, when asked if NBC’s claim that he had called Trump ‘‘a moron’’ was accurate, he replied: ‘‘We don’t deal with that kind of petty nonsense.’’

After the press conference, Trump tweeted that ‘‘the NBC story has just been refuted’’ by Mr Tillerson and he demanded an apology from the television network.

Tensions were said to have peaked in July as Trump’s security advisers tried to thrash out a policy on Afghanistan and a beleaguered West Wing endured a series of controversies, most of them set in motion by the president.

After a meeting at the Pentagon on July 20, Tillerson allegedly openly disparaged Trump, referring to him as ‘‘a moron’’, three officials told NBC. Pence is said to have intervened to talk Tillerson out of resigning.

For the past nine months the White House has been a wellspring of palace intrigue and Trump has often seemed to revel in undermining his advisers. Last week he appeared to undercut Tillerson’s efforts to broker a diplomatic solution to the North Korea nuclear crisis. The two men also have clashed on issues including Iran and Qatar.

In August Trump was said to be furious after Tillerson distanced himself from remarks made by the president about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump suggested that both neo-Nazis and those who had turned out to protest against them shared blame for unrest that culminated in the death of a counterprotester.

According to NBC, Tillerson grew so disillusioned with Trump in July that he threatened not to return to Washington after he went to Texas for his son’s wedding. John Kelly, now the White House chief of staff, and Jim Mattis, the defence secretary, are said to have spoken to Tillerson, urging him to stay.

‘‘They did beg him to stay,’’ a senior administration official told NBC. ‘‘They just wanted stability.’’ - The Times

"[Donald Trump] loves this country. He puts Americans and America first. He's smart. He demands results wherever he goes, and he holds those around him accountable." Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State