US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has dismissed a prominent Republican senator’s claim that President Donald Trump is trying to “publicly castrate” him by undermining his political efforts.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Tillerson rubbished Tennessee Senator Bob Corker’s assertion that he has been neutered because Trump undermined his diplomatic initiatives with North Korea.
“I checked, I’m fully intact,” Tillerson told host Jake Tapper in a deadpan manner.
The former ExxonMobil CEO revealed that President Trump has instructed him to continue his diplomatic efforts on the Korean Peninsula.
“I want to make it clear that the president has made it clear to me he wants to solve this diplomatically... he is not seeking to go to war,” he said. “The diplomatic effort will continue until the first bomb drops.”
He then praised Trump, calling him “a very unique president.”
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that everyone sees him as the most unique president in modern history,” Tillerson said.
The secretary of state also repeatedly declined to deny reports he called Trump a “moron.”
“I’m not playing,” Tillerson said when Tapper asked about the alleged comment.
“These are the games of Washington. These are the destructive games of this town. I’m not dignifying the question with an answer, Jake, and I’m a little surprised that you want to spend so much time on it when there are so many issues around the world.”
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