Tillerson fails to deny calling Trump a moron

REX TILLERSON, America’s top diplomat, has denied that he intends to resign as secretary of state, while addressing an unusual press conference called in response to reports he had called Donald Trump a “moron”.

Mr Tillerson, asked directly whether on July 20 he had called the president a “moron”, did not deny it – instead describing the report as “petty nonsense”.

In a speech at the state department, Mr Tillerson praised Mr Trump, saying he had “broken the mould” on foreign policy, and listed the achievements of the administration.

Yet Mr Tillerson, the former chairman of Exxon, has been reported for months to be deeply unhappy with Mr Trump’s behaviour. The pair have been at odds over how to handle Iran and Qatar, and Mr Tillerson was said to be furious at the president’s handling of protests in Charlottesville.

On Sunday, while Mr Tillerson was in China holding negotiations over North Korea, Mr Trump scorned his secretary of state’s diplomacy, tweeting that he was “wasting his time”. “Save your energy, Rex,” he said. NBC News reported that Mike Pence, the vice-president, persuaded Mr Tillerson not to quit over the summer. But yesterday Mr Tillerson said there had been “erroneous reports” that he had considered leaving the state department. “The vice-president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because I have never considered leaving this post,” he said. “I want to reaffirm my commitment to this role and dispel this notion that I have ever considered leaving. There had never been a consideration in my mind to leave.

“What we have accomplished, we have done as a team. One team with one mission. There are some who try to sow dissension in Washington. I do not and will not operate that way.”

Asked whether he called Mr Trump a “moron”, he said: “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that. This is what I don’t understand about Washington.

“Where I come from we don’t deal with this kind of petty nonsense.”

Mr Trump referenced the report in tweets yesterday en route to Las Vegas. He wrote: “Wow, so many Fake News

‘I want to reaffirm my commitment to this role... to dispel this notion that I have ever considered leaving. ’

stories today. No matter what I do or say, they will not write or speak truth. The Fake News Media is out of control!

“NBC news is #Fakenews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!”

“The @NBCNEWS story has just been totally refuted by Sec Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #Fakenews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!”

Heather Nauert, a State Department spokesman, later denied that Mr Tillerson had called Mr Trump a moron.