Tillerson reaffirms commitment to Trump

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday he had never considered resigning and was committed to President Donald Trump's agenda, but failed to address whether he had referred to the president as a "moron," as NBC reported.

The State Department later denied he had even used the word, an issue Tillerson earlier declined to specifically address.

"The Secretary.... does not use that language to speak about anyone. He did not say that," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said at a briefing.

The top US diplomat, whose tenure has been dogged with rumors about unhappiness with Trump's policies and rhetoric, said he was as committed to Trump's agenda today as he was when he accepted the offer to serve as secretary of state.

US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confer during the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 20, 2017. /Reuters Photo

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 criticized 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 organized 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."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes a statement to the media that he is not going to resign, at the State Department in Washington, DC, Oct. 4, 2017. /Reuters Photo

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," Tillerson said.

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 honored 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 DPRK leader Kim Jong Un over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

Tillerson offered a vigorous defense of both the US 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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Source(s): Reuters