Trump boasts he has a higher IQ than Rex Tillerson after secretary allegedly calls him a 'moron'


President Trump has insisted that an NBC report alleging that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in a moment of frustration, called Trump a "moron" (or something worse), is "fake news." But if Tillerson did happen to say something along those lines, Trump clarified that there is no competition when it comes to the IQ department.
The comment came in a wide-ranging conversation with Forbes published Tuesday:
[Trump] counterpunches, in this case firing a shot at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly called his boss a moron: "I think it's fake news, but if he did that, I guess we'll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win." [Forbes]
Tillerson, for his part, has notably not denied calling Trump a moron.
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Read the full interview between Forbes and Trump here.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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