- Tech
-
-
Tech
The gadgets, platforms, and software that make your digital life possible. if it bleeps, clicks or blinks, you’ll find it here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Feds say college student operated drug business through gaming app Thursday 4:36 PM
- Facebook let advertisers target users interested in infamous Nazis Thursday 1:58 PM
- Trump randomly calls for companies to ‘step up’ their 5G efforts in U.S. Thursday 10:28 AM
- 12 essential Amazon Echo accessories for your smart home Thursday 6:00 AM
- Pinterest is reportedly blocking vaccination searches Wednesday 2:53 PM
-
-
-
- Internet Culture
-
-
Internet Culture
There’s a community for everyone online.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- This Loki meme is the new way to play dumb Today 7:30 AM
- Bowser is taking over Nintendo—and the memes make themselves Thursday 7:02 PM
- The eyes have it in these ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ memes Thursday 2:13 PM
- Someone figured out that Toothless from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ looks just like Bulbasaur Thursday 12:44 PM
- The truth behind the anti-LGBTQ emoji controversy Wednesday 1:37 PM
-
-
-
- Streaming
-
-
Streaming
You’ve cut the cord—now what?
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- YouTube just made it awfully easy to harass creators 1 Year Ago
- Mark Duplass and Ray Romano transcend the typical bromance in ‘Paddleton’ Today 7:00 AM
- 15 new thrillers on Netflix you need to see Today 7:00 AM
- How to watch the new Bon Appetit channel for free Thursday 12:03 PM
- Eminem disses Netflix for canceling ‘The Punisher’ Thursday 11:50 AM
-
-
-
- IRL
-
-
IRL
Where your off- and online identities collide.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Feds say college student operated drug business through gaming app Thursday 4:36 PM
- Disturbing Snapchat video shows 17-year-old throwing dog on trampoline Thursday 12:16 PM
- Florida prisons sued for depriving inmates of music they paid for Thursday 11:36 AM
- The Twitter accounts taking on journalism’s straight, white, cis male problem Thursday 6:30 AM
- These people are organizing Fyre Fest live-action role-play parties Wednesday 6:35 PM
-
-
-
- Social
-
-
Social
If it happens online, it’s here.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- YouTube just made it awfully easy to harass creators 1 Year Ago
- Report: Trump the only 2020 contender who won’t rule out using stolen data Today 9:01 AM
- House Republicans offer bipartisan net neutrality bill—but there’s a catch Today 8:30 AM
- This Loki meme is the new way to play dumb Today 7:30 AM
- Mark Duplass and Ray Romano transcend the typical bromance in ‘Paddleton’ Today 7:00 AM
-
-
-
- Bazaar
-
-
Bazaar
The Bazaar specializes in the stuff you don’t actually need…but you really, really want.
-
Categories
-
-
Latest
- Allow your wallet to be your spirit guide during this rad anime sale Tuesday 10:43 AM
- 14 artsy cartoon mugs that’ll help make your days more creative Monday 12:15 PM
- Get your nerd on with ThinkGeek’s Funko Pop B2G1 sale Monday 3:00 AM
- Play all your NES games in high def with the Hyperkin RetroN HD Tuesday 8:39 AM
- The Introvert Activity Book is perfect for those who find solace in alone time Monday 11:30 AM
-
-
-
- More
- Search
See all Editor's Picks →
See all Popular →
Represented by Complex Media, Inc. for advertising sales.
Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Ethics
Latest
- YouTube just made it awfully easy to harass creators 1 Year Ago
- Report: Trump the only 2020 contender who won’t rule out using stolen data Today 9:01 AM
- House Republicans offer bipartisan net neutrality bill—but there’s a catch Today 8:30 AM
- This Loki meme is the new way to play dumb Today 7:30 AM
- Mark Duplass and Ray Romano transcend the typical bromance in ‘Paddleton’ Today 7:00 AM
- 15 new thrillers on Netflix you need to see Today 7:00 AM
- Indie horror movie ‘The Hole in the Ground’ is legit terrifying Today 6:40 AM
- Every Apex Legends character, ranked Today 6:00 AM
- ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ delivers a powerfully political episode Thursday 8:30 PM
- Bowser is taking over Nintendo—and the memes make themselves Thursday 7:02 PM
- California aims to strengthen data breach notification law Thursday 5:37 PM
- Feds say college student operated drug business through gaming app Thursday 4:36 PM
- Trump is again using old videos to claim his border wall is ‘under construction’ Thursday 4:05 PM
- Laura Loomer leads fruitless right-wing march on Twitter Thursday 3:37 PM
- The eyes have it in these ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ memes Thursday 2:13 PM
Tillerson reportedly called Trump a ‘f**king moron,’ threatened to resign
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson allegedly came close to resigning this summer after President Donald Trump‘s bizarre speech at the Boy Scouts Jamboree in July, reports NBC News.
The report, based on conversations with at least three unnamed senior Trump administration officials, reveals simmering tensions within Trump’s team and attempts by other top officials to maintain the appearance of cohesion in a presidency plagued by high-profile controversies.
Here’s the rundown:
- The name game: Tillerson reportedly called Trump a “moron” (or a “fucking moron,” according to NBC News’ Stephanie Ruhle) after a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon between Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials. This was just days before Trump’s politicized speech to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization Tillerson used to lead, and a day after Trump considered firing the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan and compared “the decision-making process on troop levels to the renovation of a high-end New York restaurant,” as NBC News put it.
- International relations get personal: At the center of the alleged tensions between Tillerson and Trump is the president’s foreign policy stances, including those toward Iran and Qatar.
- Adults in the room: Vice President Mike Pence, unnamed officials said, had to talk Tillerson into remaining in the administration at least through the end of 2017. Gen. John Kelly, now Trump’s chief of staff, and Defense Secretary Gen. James Mattis both urged Tillerson to remain in the administration, NBC News reports.
- Deny, deny, deny: State Department spokesman R.C. Hammond denied the accounts by NBC News sources, saying Tillerson did not call Trump a moron. He also said he was aware of only one private meeting between Tillerson and Pence, during which the pair discussed whether Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was valuable to the administration.
Read the full NBC News report here.
Update 9:51am CT, Oct. 4: Trump appeared to respond to the NBC News report on Wednesday morning, calling the network “fake news” and “even more dishonest than CNN,” which has born the brunt of the president’s anti-media ire.
NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017
Update 10:17am CT, Oct. 4: At a surprise press conference on Wednesday morning, Tillerson denied threatening to resign. “I have never considered leaving this post,” he said. The secretary of state vowed to remain in the post until the president asks him to step down. He did not deny calling Trump a moron. “I’m not going to deal with petty stuff like that,” Tillerson said in response to a reporter’s question about the alleged insult.

Andrew Couts
Andrew Couts is the former editor of Layer 8, a section dedicated to the intersection of the Internet and the state—and the gaps in between. Prior to the Daily Dot, Couts served as features editor and features writer for Digital Trends, associate editor of TheWeek.com, and associate editor at Maxim magazine. When he’s not working, Couts can be found hiking with his German shepherds or blasting around on motorcycles.