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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (October 4) he has "total confidence" in U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, disputing a report by NBC News about tensions between the president and the top U.S. diplomat.
His comments came hours after Tillerson said he had never considered resigning and that he was committed to Trump's agenda but declined to directly address whether he had referred to the president as a "moron" as NBC News has reported.
The top U.S. diplomat, whose tenure has been dogged with rumours about unhappiness with Trump's policies and rhetoric, said he was committed to Trump's agenda as much today as he was when he first accepted the offer to serve as secretary of state.
Tillerson spoke after NBC reported that Vice President Mike Pence and other top officials had intervened to persuade him not to resign this summer as tensions rose between Trump and Tillerson.