So, did you call Trump a 'moron' or not, Rex? Tillerson dodges question amid claims he almost quit over rows with President

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Rex Tillerson refused to deny he called Donald Trump
a "moron" amid claims he almost quit the White
House after mounting disputes.
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted on
Wednesday that he had never considered resigning
and was committed to President Donald Trump's
agenda.
But he failed to address whether he had referred to
the president as a "moron," as NBC reported .
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The State Department later denied he had even used
the word, an issue Tillerson earlier declined to
specifically address.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said:
"The Secretary .... does not use that language to
speak about anyone. He did not say that."
The top US diplomat, whose tenure has been dogged
with rumours about unhappiness with Trump's policies
and rhetoric, said he was as committed to the
President's agenda today as he was when he
accepted the offer to serve as secretary of state.
The episode is the latest controversy to embroil
Trump's administration which has witnessed a string
of high-profile departures and firings in recent months,
including his chief of staff, national security advisor
and the former FBI director.
NBC reported that, in a session with Trump’s national
security team and Cabinet officials at the Pentagon,
Tillerson had openly criticised the president and
referred to him as a "moron," citing three officials
familiar with the incident.
Tillerson sidestepped the issue when taking questions
after making a statement at a hastily organised news
conference.
"I'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that," he
said, adding, "I'm not from this place (Washington),
but the places I come from we don't deal with that
kind of petty nonsense."
Tillerson spoke after NBC reported that Vice President
Mike Pence and other top officials had intervened to
persuade him not to resign this summer as tensions
rose between him and Trump.
"The vice president has never had to persuade me to
remain as secretary of state because I have never
considered leaving this post," Tillerson said.
"My commitment to the success of our president and
our country is as strong as it was the day I accepted
his offer to serve as secretary of state."
Nauert said Tillerson and Trump had spoken later on
Wednesday and that it was a "good conversation".
Tillerson did not offer an apology to Trump because
"one was not needed".
Tillerson, the former CEO of Exxon and former
president of the Boy Scouts, said of Trump: "He's
smart. He demands results."
Trump later told reporters in Las Vegas: "I'm very
honoured by his comments. It was fake news, it was
a totally phony story. ... It was made up by NBC. They
just made it up. ... Total confidence in Rex. I have
total confidence."
Trump had appeared to undercut Tillerson over the
weekend when the president tweeted that he told him
that he was "wasting his time" trying to negotiate with
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Pyongyang's
nuclear and missile programs.
Tillerson offered a vigorous defense of both the U.S.
president and his foreign policy even though the White
House and State Department have at times appeared
to differ on policy.
"President Trump's foreign policy goals break the
mold of what people traditionally think is achievable
on behalf of our country," Tillerson said.

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