Trump unloads on NBC after report says Tillerson called him a 'moron'

President Donald Trump blasted NBC News in a tweet on Wednesday after the outlet reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the president a "moron."

"NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN," Trump tweeted. "They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!"

NBC News had reported that Tillerson disparaged the president after a meeting on Afghanistan in which Trump compared "the decision-making process on troop levels to the renovation of a high-end New York restaurant." The news outlet also reported that Tillerson had considered resigning.

As Business Insider's Joe Perticone noticed, Trump's social media director Dan Scavino sent an identical tweet at the same moment, suggesting that Trump himself might not have written the tweet.

Tillerson addressed the story on Wednesday in a public address, saying he was committed to the president and to his role as secretary of state and trying to dispel the notion that he wanted to leave the post. He also denied that Vice President Mike Pence intervened to persuade him to stay in the job.

"I'm not going to deal with petty stuff like that," Tillerson said when asked about NBC News' reporting that claimed he called Trump a "moron."