Rex Tillerson will likely be gone by early 2018, according to Washington consensus

Rex Tillerson and Trump at loggerheads
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert categorically denied on Wednesday evening that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called President Trump a "moron" after a Pentagon meeting in July, because "he does not use that language to speak about anyone." But several news organizations have confirmed the "moron" comment, first reported by NBC News, and report it was common gossip within and outside of the White House. Trump himself learned about it within days, according to CBS News' Major Garrett, coloring Trump's tweets undercutting Tillerson.

Tillerson did not deny using the phrase about Trump in a press conference, but he did say he won't resign and heaped praise on Trump, leading Trump to express his full confidence in Tillerson. The public nice-making plus Trump not wanting to lose more senior officials so soon have saved Tillerson's job for now, but they "may well be too little and too late for the long term," The Washington Post reports, citing "19 current and former senior administration officials and Capitol Hill aides."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.