President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted NBC over a report alleging the secretary of state called him a “moron,” while suggesting that Puerto Rico’s massive debt out to be wiped out.

In his ongoing war with the media, the president lashed out at NBC after the network reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron” at a Pentagon meeting in July.

Only problem is, Tillerson has not actually denied disparaging Trump. In an impromptu public appearance Wednesday, the secretary of state called Trump “smart” and said they share the same goals on foreign policy.

Yet Tillerson refused to address whether he called Trump a moron. “I am not going to deal with petty stuff like that,” the former CEO of Exxon Mobil XOM, -1.61% said. “This is what I don’t understand about Washington.”

At the same time, though, Tillerson show no hesitation in denying another part of the NBC story that said he was talked out of resigning by Vice President Mike Pence. Tillerson denied he considered quitting.

Trump has appeared to undermine Tillerson on several key issues, including negotiations with North Korea. A White House spokesman said Tillerson still has the confidence of the president.

Wipe out Puerto Rico debt?

After a tour of devastated Puerto Rico, the president said in a Fox News interview that its crushing $73 billion bond debt should be eliminated.

“They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we’re going to have to wipe that out. You’re going to say goodbye to that. I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs GS, +0.01% but whoever it is you can wave goodbye to that,” Trump said in a recorded interview with Geraldo Rivera to air on Tuesday night.

Other White House officials later tried to play down the president’s comments, but it’s unclear what if any power the president has to make it happen.

Also Read:Can Trump really ‘wipe out’ Puerto Rico’s debt?

Trump has a love-hate relationship with banks. He’s relied on Wall Street to fund his real-estate projects, but a handful of his companies have filed for bankruptcy to allow them to reduce their debt.

As president he is also worried about the cost of rebuilding Puerto Rico. In a joke that fell flat, he told Puerto Ricans on Monday that “you’ve thrown our budget out of whack.”

If Trump wants to keep federal costs down, one way to do it would be to relieve Puerto Rico of its debt. Whatever the island does not have to pay investors could go toward post-hurricane reconstruction.

Such a deal would be a hard sell in Congress, however.

Mourning in Las Vegas

The president went from one disaster in Puerto Rico to another in Las Vegas, where 59 people were killed on Sunday in a mass shooting. The president on Wednesday praised the police response and said more people would have been harmed had authorities not acted quickly.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump head to Las Vegas in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Fifty-nine people were killed at a country-music festival. Getty Images

Trump owns a hotel in Las Vegas and has long history in the city. He met with political leaders, law enforcement leaders and victims of the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

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