Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held a hastily called news conference Wednesday in which he denied he has considered resigning over conflicts with President Trump.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “The vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state, because I have never considered leaving this post. While I’m new to Washington, I have learned that there are some who try to sow dissension to advance their own agenda by tearing others apart, in an effort to undermine President Trump’s own agenda. I do not and I will not operate that way, and the same applies to everyone on my team here at the State Department.”

NBC News has reported Tillerson was on the verge of resigning last summer and that he called Trump a “moron” during a meeting at the Pentagon with Cabinet officials and members of Trump’s national security team in July. President Trump lashed out at NBC over the report, tweeting Wednesday, ”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!”