President Trump offered to compare IQ tests with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after a report claimed the former Exxon Mobil CEO called him a “moron.”
In an interview with Forbes published Tuesday, Trump began by saying he thought the report was “fake news,” but followed up by suggesting he’d beat Tillerson in an IQ test.
"I think it's fake news, but if he did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests," he said, “and I can tell you who is going to win."
Earlier this month NBC News reported that Tillerson called him a "moron" and that administration officials had to urge him to stay on as secretary of state.
Tillerson addressed the claims, saying, “the vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of State because I have never considered leaving this post.”
As for the “moron” comment, Tillerson said he’s “just not going to deal with petty stuff like that.”
Later, the State Department was more direct in saying the report was not true.
Trump said over the weekend that he believed the two had a "very good relationship" but told reporters he did wish Tillerson was "a little tougher."
"We have a very good relationship,” he said Saturday. “We disagree on a couple of things, sometimes I’d like him to be a little bit tougher.
“But other than that we have a very good relationship.”
The president also had taken a shot at NBC over the report, tweeting last week that the network "is so knowingly inaccurate with their reporting. The good news is that the PEOPLE get it, which is really all that matters! Not #1."