State Department Spokesperson Denies Tillerson Called Trump a 'Moron'

NBC News reported this morning that, while in private, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called President Trump a “moron.” And then Tillerson had an impromptu press briefing, in which he declared that he still had confidence in Trump and hoped to remain working at the State Department. But it was widely reported that he didn’t technically deny that he had said the nasty thing about the president.

But Heather Nauert, the Department’s spokesperson, did deny it. She flat-out denied it. She told her pressroom today:

The Secretary does not use that type of language. The Secretary did not use that type of language to speak about the President of the United States. He does not use that language to speak about anyone. […] He did not say that.

Assuming the administration is being truthful, this is yet another mainstream media story proving to be baseless. You would think that NBC would have checked with the department, or at least asked for comment, before publishing their gossip…

Stephanie Ruhle, the NBC reporter who contributed to their piece, defended her effort. Ruhle is becoming infamous for her character assassinations on the Trump administration– saying Jared Kushner has never had to act like a grown-up, arguing that the entire administration would be grounded in her household, and badgering a Trump surrogate. Maybe she’s biased…?