Rex Tillerson refuses to deny calling Trump a "moron" at emergency press conference
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson attacked a report that he called Donald Trump a “moron,” in an unusual statement to the media. But he did not deny the story. After reciting praise of Trump’s agenda, Tillerson said his commitment to the administration is “as strong as ever,” and denied reports that he had to be […]
After reciting praise of Trump’s agenda, Tillerson said his commitment to the administration is “as strong as ever,” and denied reports that he had to be talked out of resigning his position by Vice President Mike Pence.
Tillerson insisted in his statement, read like a hostage from prepared text, that Trump was “smart” and said he was “making America great again.”
Tillerson was reacting to a report from NBC News that said he was on the verge of resigning his post, and had called Trump a “moron” after meeting with members of the national security team and other Cabinet officials. NBC sourced the report to “three officials familiar with the incident.”
Referring to the NBC report’s quote, Tillerson said, “There are some who sow distention in an attempt to further their own agendas.”
After Tillerson’s statement, CNN reported that its own sources had confirmed Tillerson did indeed refer to Trump as a “moron.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle said her sources told her the exact quote was “effing moron.”
Right before Tillerson spoke, Trump attacked the NBC story, decrying it as “fake news” while en route to Las Vegas to respond to the mass shooting there.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017
Trump then followed up that tweet with some fake news of his own:
The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017
Despite Trump’s desperate tweets, Tillerson did not refute the entire story at his bizarre press conference, instead seeming to confirm that he did in fact call the president of the United States a “moron.”
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