Trump challenges his secretary of state to “compare IQ tests”

US President Trump has challenged his secretary of state to “compare IQ tests”, in a potential rift that emerged last week.

Following Tillerson’s reported comments, calling the US President a “moron”, Trump said: “I think it’s fake news. But if he did [say] that, I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win.”

This tense relationship sparked following an NBC story reported that Tillerson called Trump a “moron”, which has since been denied by a Tillerson spokeswoman.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, Trump said that he has had: “just about the most legislation passed of any president, in a nine-month period, that’s ever served. We had over 50 bills passed. I’m not talking about executive orders only, which are very important. I’m talking about bills.”

“I also have another bill … an economic development bill, which I think will be fantastic. Which nobody knows about. Which you are hearing about for the first time,” he continued.

Tillerson and Trump are expected to have lunch with Jim Mattis, the defence secretary, on Tuesday.

The supposed comment has clearly touched a nerve with the US President, who later went to claim that he rarely has to consult with generals because he has “a very good brain” and has “the best words” after having such a high level and quality of education.

In the same Forbes interview, Trump spoke of how he would reward companies making jobs in the US, whilst penalizing those who move operations abroad. 

“It’s both a carrot and a stick,” he said. “It is an incentive to stay. But it is perhaps even more so – if you leave, it’s going to be very tough for you to think that you’re going to be able to sell your product back into our country.”