Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a Sunday TV interview refused to say whether or not he called President Trump a "moron."

"As I said, Jake, I'm not playing," Tillerson told CNN's Jake Tapper during "State of the Union" when the host pressed him.

"These are the games of Washington. These are the destructive games of this town. They're not helpful to anyone. And so my position on it is, I'm not playing. I'm not playing. You want to make a game out of it, I'm not playing," he said.

Tapper pushed back, telling Tillerson he is not "making a game out of" reported comments from the nation's top diplomat earlier this month.

"I'm not dignifying the question with an answer, Jake," Tillerson replied.

Tillerson earlier this month addressed a report that said other Trump officials had urged him not to quit during the summer. The secretary of State said he never considered resigning from his post, though he refused to deny that he called the president a "moron," which was also reported.

The State Department later that day denied that Tillerson used the word to describe Trump.

"The secretary does not use that type of language," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"The secretary did not use that type of language to speak about the president of the United States. He does not use that language to speak about anyone," she said.