Administration

Tillerson again refuses to say whether he called Trump a ‘moron’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday again refused to deny that he called President Trump a “moron,” saying it’s not an important issue. 

“I’m not going to dignify the question,” Tillerson said on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” when asked whether he used the pejorative to describe Trump. “We got so many bigger issues that we could be talking about.”

{mosads}

“I’m not from this town. I understand this town likes to talk about a lot of things that are really not important,” he added.

NBC News reported last October that Tillerson had called Trump a “moron,” and that other officials had to urge him to remain on as secretary of State. 

Days later, Tillerson didn’t directly address the report, saying he would not “deal with petty stuff like that.”

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert later issued a denial of the report, saying Tillerson “did not use that type of language” to speak about Trump.

Asked by “60 Minutes” reporter Margaret Brennan why he didn’t deny the initial report, Tillerson deflected, saying it’s a “really old question” and one that he’s answered.

Tillerson’s relationship with Trump has led to rampant speculation over the last few months that the secretary of State might resign or be forced out. However, Tillerson said he doesn’t give such reports much thought.

“You know, the only person that knows whether I’m resigning or not is me,” he said on “60 Minutes.”