Politics

Trump Denies Undercutting Tillerson

Molly Riley-Pool/Getty Images.

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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President Donald Trump met with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Tuesday amid tensions with North Korea, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Over the past few days, President Trump has challenged Tillerson’s IQ after the secretary of state reportedly called the president a “moron.” Trump also faced criticism from fellow Republican Sen. Corker who claimed that Trump is putting the U.S. on a path to “World War III.”

“We were on the wrong path before,” Trump told reporters while sitting next to Kissinger. “All you have to do is take a look…We were on a path to a very big problem. We are on the right path right now, believe me.”

The president denied that he undercut Tillerson by telling Forbes that Tillerson and Trump should “compare IQ tests,” and that he is confident “who is going to win.”

The Daily Beast reported that the two were scheduled to discuss China and North Korea.

The meeting with Kissinger is not Trump’s first meeting in the White House with Nixon’s former top diplomat. The two also met in May, a day after Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey.

“Henry Kissinger has been a friend of mine. I’ve liked him. I’ve respected him. But we’ve been friends for a long time, long before my emergence into the world of politics, which has not been too long,” Trump said. 

Kissinger told reporters that “it’s always a great honor” to be at the White House.