Story highlights Tillerson told host Jake Tapper that he maintains a close and candid relationship with Trump

Pressed repeatedly on the subject by Tapper on Sunday, Tillerson refused to budge

Washington (CNN) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday again refused to say whether he called President Donald Trump a "moron" following a meeting at the Pentagon this past summer.

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Tillerson told anchor Jake Tapper that he maintains a close and candid relationship with Trump, despite reports indicating Tillerson's frustrations with the commander in chief.

"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."

Tillerson's comments come after reports indicated that Trump's July 20 meeting at the Pentagon was a "difficult and tense" session. It was after that session that Tillerson, in a private conversation with fellow US officials, exasperatedly called the President a "moron," a comment that sparked new questions about the two men's relationship. NBC first reported the remark.

The broad-reaching session, held inside the secure conference room known as the "tank," came a day after a White House situation room meeting on Afghanistan.

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