October 04, 2017 01:40 PM UTC

Rex Tillerson Thinks Trump is a "Moron"

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• by: Colorado Pols

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is probably not long for this job after word leaked out that he called President Trump a “moron” during a meeting at the Pentagon this summer. As CNN explains:

Discord between President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat is at an all-time high, spilling into public view in recent days, peaking with a NBC News report Wednesday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron” in a Pentagon meeting.

Trump was aware before Wednesday’s report that Tillerson had referred to him as a “moron” at the Pentagon this summer, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN, but it’s unclear whether Trump discussed the remark with Tillerson. Trump was not present at the Pentagon meeting. A White House source also confirmed to CNN that Trump knew about the insult prior to Wednesday.

During a hastily arranged statement Wednesday morning, Tillerson insisted he enjoys a close relationship with Trump and called him “smart.” But he would not directly deny that he’d called Trump a “moron.”

Trump is notoriously thin-skinned, so it’s hard to see how he won’t boot Tillerson out of his Cabinet at some point soon…that is, of course, if Tillerson doesn’t quit first. Today Tillerson spoke at last-minute press conference to dispute a report from NBC News that he had to be talked out of resigning by Vice President Mike Pence. From Politico:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that he has never considered resigning his position, disputing an NBC News report that he was on the verge of such a move over the summer…

…NBC News reported Wednesday that Tillerson had referred to Trump as a “moron” after a meeting at the Pentagon last July with members of the president’s national security team. Citing multiple unnamed sources, the network reported that the secretary of state was close to resigning in the wake of the president’s controversial, political speech at a Boy Scouts of America jamboree and only remained in his job after discussions with Vice President Mike Pence and other administration officials.

As for Trump, the President took to Twitter to call the NBC News report “fake news.” Trump did not mention the fact that Tillerson would not deny calling the President a “moron.”