The choosing of Exxon mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as America’s next Secretary of State – which is expected to be confirmed today — seems a typical Donald Trump move: crass, profoundly annoying to the president-elect’s enemies, yet at the same time perhaps very clever.
The political class is, naturally, aghast: a corporate titan in charge of American diplomacy. The horror! Environmentalists are disturbed, too: an oil exec as Secretary of State – what about the planet? And nervous Russia watchers are appalled most of all: at Exxon, Tillerson has cultivated close ties with Vladimir Putin, which of course taps into fears that the Trump presidency will be a puppet operation for mastermind Vlad in the Kremlin.
Tillerson’s work at Exxon suggests a ruthless operator who put the interests of his company first and foremost, even if it meant shaking hands with authoritarian thugs.
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