Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sought to lay to rest longstanding speculation about his impending departure from the State Department on Wednesday in an impromptu address that derided recent media coverage as "erroneous."
“I have never considered leaving this post," Tillerson said from the State Department's lavish Treaty Room. "While I'm new to Washington, I have learned that there are some who try to sow dissension by tearing others apart in an effort to undermine President Trump's own agenda."
The statement follows a report by NBC News that Tillerson openly mocked the president, calling him a “moron” following a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with top Trump officials. The story claimed that Tillerson was on the brink of resigning this summer over a range of policy disputes over Qatar and Iran.
The article also reported that Tillerson had to be persuaded by Vice President Mike Pence over the summer to stay in the job.
"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.
When asked directly if he had ever described the president as a "moron," Tillerson said "I'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that. This is what I do not understand about Washington."
Ahead of his remarks, Trump's Twitter account issue a statement saying "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!"
Trump's director of social media, Dan Scavino, tweeted the same message — then deleted it, then retweeted Trump — implying Trump himself may not have sent it.
Tillerson also delivered a full-throated defense of Trump and his foreign policies, saying, "We're finding new ways to govern that deliver new victories."
Following Tillerson's remarks, Trump demanded an apology from NBC News.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2fPsEWu
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