We’ve all called our boss a moron at some point in our lives – either to their face or otherwise – but we are rarely called before a press conference in order to clear up the matter. (Note: if you have, I’m sorry you had to go through that.)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former oil boss who now runs foreign policy for Donald Trump, is in a bit of a pickle at a moment. The usually camera-shy diplomat was forced to front a presser to deny a a story from NBC News which claimed that he wanted to leave his job and also called Trump a ‘moron’.
Even before Tillerson made his address, Trump already had his back – he called NBC ‘fake news’ in a series of tweets.
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
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
The original report from NBC claimed that Tillerson was ready to ditch his gig “amid mounting policy disputes and clashes with the White House,” and that he allegedly referred to Trump as a ‘moron’ after a particularly heated meeting at the Pentagon.
In his press conference, Tillerson said that he had “never considered leaving his post,” and that he was proudly part of a team that was helping to “make America great again”.
When asked whether he had called Trump a moron, Tillerson didn’t really deny it:
I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that. I mean, this is what I don’t understand about Washington. Again, I’m not from this place, but the places I come from, we don’t deal with that kind of petty nonsense.
However, a later statement from a spokesperson to NBC denied that he had called Trump a moron at any time. Well, I guess that settles it. He mustn’t have said it.
Just another day in paradise, folks.
