President Trump has expressed full confidence in his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, despite reports that Mr. Tillerson threatened to quit and recently referred to the President as "a moron".
The reports published by two US television networks - NBC and CNN - are being dismissed as "fake news" by Mr. Trump.
But as our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports, the Secretary of State himself did not deny all their allegations.
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Did he, or didn't he?
That is the question gripping Washington after NBC reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recently President Trump as "a moron".
Actually, there was a bit more to the description….but not words we can use on a family radio program.
The phrase was apparently used by a furious Secretary of State following a highly political speech that President Trump made in July to the Boy Scouts of America.
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Like many others, Rex Tillerson…himself, a big Scouting enthusiast - was infuriated by that speech, believing that the Scouts were being inappropriately dragged into the political arena.
Indeed, the Scouting movement eventually distanced itself from the President's remarks.
So, NBC and then CNN reported that Mr. Tillerson decided to quit his post….only to be talked out of resigning after several interventions by Vice President Mike Pence.
Mr. Tillerson, reading from a very carefully prepared statement, denied that claim vehemently.
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But what about the use of the word "moron".
Asked directly whether he'd disparaged the President in that way, he danced on the head of a pin.
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Now for a man who denies knowing much about the way Washington works….that sounded like a classic Washington failure to answer a direct question.
So everyone assumed that yes, Mr. Tillerson, had used the word "moron" to describe his boss.
Several hours later, his Press Secretary Heather Nauert had a go trying to set the record straight.
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So she says he didn't say it……but her credibility is in doubt from the get-go, because just last weekend she seemed unaware that North Korea had developed nuclear weapons…something you'd think the State Department spokeswoman might know.
That of course was the same weekend when President Trump was pulling the rug out from underneath Rex Tillerson.
While the Secretary of State was in Beijing trying to negotiate a solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula, the President Tweeted that he was "wasting his time"….and that diplomacy couldn't work.
On Capitol Hill….
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….Republicans like Senator Bob Corker….once tipped to be President Trump's Secretary of State…had their heads in their hands over the latest twists and turns within the Trump administration.
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So perhaps it is comforting that for the moment at least Rex Tillerson remains US Secretary of State.
President Trump says he has "full confidence" in him, and dismissed the news reports as "made-up" and "bogus"….a conclusion that some in Washington think only serves to validate Rex Tillerson's judgment of him.
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