Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed the nation Sunday that he was indeed "fully intact" after Sen. Bob Corker suggested he had been "castrated" by President Donald Trump.
CNN host Jake Tapper asked Tillerson about Corker's comment, as the diplomat appears to be fighting his own boss in his global negotiations.
“I checked, I’m fully intact,” Tillerson said.
Trump's feud with Corker las week goaded the Tennessee Republican to speak his mind about the president. Trump said that Corker begged him for an endorsement for his re-election. In response, Corker likened the Oval Office to an "adult day care center," setting off a news cycle of stories about yet another feud between Republican Party leaders. Corker has been especially critical of Trump's foreign policy, arguing that the president has cut Tillerson's legs, or genitals, from under him.
Tillerson has apparently been frustrated with Trump as well. A report last week alleged that Tillerson called Trump a "fucking moron" after a meeting with national security advisers. At a press conference last week, Tillerson offered a non-denial denial when asked whether the report was true.
On Sunday's interview with Tapper, Tillerson again refused to answer the question directly.
"Jake, as I indicated earlier when I was asked about that, I'm not going to deal with that kind of petty stuff," Tillerson said. "I mean, this is a town that seems to relish in gossip, rumor and innuendo. And they feed on it. They feed on it in a very destructive way. I don't work that way and I don't feel that way."
"As I said, Jake, I'm not playing," he added, "These are the games of Washington. These are the destructive games of this town. They're not helpful to anyone. And so my position is: I'm not playing ... You want to make a game out of it? I'm not playing."
When asked at a State Department news conference earlier this month whether he'd ever called Trump a "moron," Tillerson did not respond directly.
Tillerson may not appreciate the game the media plays in Washington, but it is clear he's playing his own game with the president. Trump was reportedly furious that Tillerson did not publicly deny calling him a moron, complaining to chief of staff John Kelly for hours about his insubordinate secretary of state. Trump ultimately challenged Tillerson to an IQ test to resolve the dispute.
Watch the full interview below:
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