Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declines to deny he called President Donald Trump a moron.
When first asked by host Jake Tapper, Tillerson answered, “As I indicated earlier when I was asked about that, I’m not going to deal with that kind of petty stuff.”
Tapper pressed the issues saying,”Ever since you called it petty, I’ve been thinking a lot about it because I’m a reflective guy and I understand the media makes mistakes and the media can always improve. But here’s the thing, either you didn’t say it, and there are a the press you did, and that’s a series problem. Or you did say it, and you’re a serious guy —for you to say that expresses a real frustration with the commander-in-chief. When you don’t answer the question, it makes people think you probably did say it. Either way, whatever happened, it is serious. So, can you please clear it up?”
Tillerson said, “As I said, Jake, I’m not playing. These are the games of Washington. These are the destructive games of this town. They’re not helpful to anyone. So, my position on it is, I’m not playing. I’m not playing. You want to make a game out of it; I’m not playing.”
Tapper continued, “I’m not making a game out of it. I’m trying to seek clarity because saying that if I said that my boss was a moron, that would be a serious issue. It wouldn’t be — my boss doesn’t control nukes. I’m willing to move on, but I want to be clear, you still haven’t denied you called him a moron. And, you know, a lot of people are going to watch this and think, he probably said it.”
Tillerson ended the exchange saying, “I’m not dignifying the question with an answer, Jake. I’m a little surprised you want to spend so much time on it when there are so many important issues around the world to deal with.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.