President Donald Trump said in an interview published Tuesday that if Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did call him a moron, they could "compare IQ tests" and show he was the smarter person.
After a bombshell NBC News report last week that Tillerson had once called Trump a "moron," Trump lashed out at the outlet as "fake news" and used the expression again in an interview with Forbes about the alleged comment.
"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," he said.
Tillerson addressed the story last week that also stated he was close to resigning last summer. While he denied ever considering resignation, he did not expressly deny making the derogatory remark about the president.
Later, the State Department said Tillerson never used "that type of language."
Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were reportedly furious about the report.
Trump added in the Forbes interview that Tillerson was "wasting his time" when Tillerson appeared to be reopening talks with North Korea.
"I'm not undermining," Trump said. "I think I'm actually strengthening authority."
Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017