President Donald Trump is ready to take an IQ test – and not for the fun of it. “I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win,” the president told Forbes magazine in response to the claims that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly called him a “moron.”
“I think it’s fake news,” Trump, 71, said of the accusations. In the interview, which was posted to Forbes’ website Tuesday, October 10, POTUS also responded to the criticism that he has often undermined the secretary of state in tweets. “I’m not undermining,” Trump said. “I think I’m actually strengthening authority.”
These tweets include ones such as: “I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man..” followed by “…Save your energy Rex, we’ll do what has to be done,” which he tweeted on October 1.
Just last week, Tillerson emerged front and center of White House drama after an NBC News story claimed Vice President Mike Pence had to talk the secretary of state out of resigning this summer. The story also included the accusation that Tillerson called the POTUS a “moron.”
Tillerson called for a news conference last week to address the claims, saying he never planned to resign. His spokeswoman also later denied that he had used that language to describe the president.
Though POTUS and Tillerson haven’t always agreed, the former Apprentice host tweeted on October 5 in his defense saying, “Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.”
The president is scheduled to have lunch Tuesday, October 10, with both Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.