This week on CNN, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson refused to respond to a question from 'State of the Union' host Jake Tapper about an unsubstantiated NBC News report which alleged he called President Donald Trump a "moron" after a heated argument this summer. The president and the Secretary of State both said last week that the report was "fake news." Even if it is not, it is at best gossip.



Instead of asking about North Korea, the Iran nuclear deal, the imminent defeat of ISIS, the president's renegotiation of NAFTA, or his upcoming trip to East Asia, Tapper asked America's top diplomat about this unverified claim regarding a personal comment which is alleged to have happened several months ago. Tillerson said stoically that he was "not going to dignify that question" with a response.



"I am not going to deal with that petty stuff," Tillerson said. "This is a town that seems to relish gossip, rumor, innuendo, and they feed on it. They feed on one another in a very destructive way."











"When you don't answer the question, it makes people think you probably did say it," Tapper explained. "But either way, whatever happened, it is serious. So can you please clear it up?"



"As I said Jake, I'm not playing," Tillerson responded.



"I'm willing to move on, but I want to be clear: You still haven't denied that you called him a moron," Tapper repeated. "And you know, a lot of people are going to watch this and think 'He probably said it.'"



America's top diplomat responded: "I'm not dignifying the question with an answer, Jake, and I'm a little surprised you want to spend so much time on it when there are so many important issues around the world to deal with."