US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today denied having offered to resign from Donald Trump's cabinet and dismissed as "petty nonsense" a media report that he had called the president a "moron".
The NBC News had reported that Tillerson came close to resigning this summer but was requested to stay in the job until the end of the year.
"The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as Secretary of State because I have never considered leaving this post," Tillerson told reporters during a brief media interaction at the State Department.
"While I'm new to Washington, I have learned there are some who try to sow dissension to advance their own agenda by tearing others apart in an effort to undermine President Trump's own agenda. I do not and I will not operate that way," he said, responding to a question on news reports that he had offered to resign.
He also dismissed as "petty nonsense" a news report that he had called the president a "moron" during a tense meeting with national security officials this summer.
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