US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he has "total confidence" in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson following an explosive report that the top diplomat had referred to Trump as a "moron."

"It was fake news. It was a totally phony story," Trump told reporters, referring to an NBC News report that quoted senior administration officials as saying Tillerson had called Trump a "moron" last summer during a meeting at the Pentagon.

"Total confidence in Rex. I have total confidence," said Trump, hours after Tillerson denied that he had considered quitting this summer.

source: AFP