Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State?

The Secretary of State is the voice of the United States abroad. Our chief diplomat and negotiator. The fourth person in the presidential line of succession.

Instead of picking someone who had experience for the job, Trump tapped a friend of Putin who has deep ties to Russia and whose selection has been praised by the Kremlin.

BIG OIL

• Tillerson is the CEO (and a multi-million dollar shareholder) of Exxon, which does business in countless countries that Tillerson will have to negotiate with as Secretary of State. We don’t know if Rex will make decisions that benefit the American people or his personal fortune.
• The New York Times has said that Exxon is “a corporation so large and powerful — operating in some 200 nations and territories — that it really has its own foreign policy.” And that foreign policy is usually at odds with American interests.
• In Chad, for example, Exxon’s 2,500 member security team outnumbers the crew at the local CIA station.
• Exxon is currently being sued and investigated for human rights violations in Indonesia, where villagers were oppressed by forces paid by Exxon.
• Exxon is also being sued for defrauding the public on the impact of climate change.

TIES TO RUSSIA

• Tillerson is said to have one of the closest relationships with Putin of any U.S. citizen, and Putin even gave him a medal for his friendship.
• Tillerson ran a US-Russian oil company incorporated in the Bahamas (to avoid US taxes). Talk about putting America first.
• Tillerson lobbied against imposing U.S. sanctions on Russia (the sanctions were bad for his bff Vlad, bad for Exxon’s bottom line). Remember — Donald Trump can “wipe out Russia sanctions with stroke of the pen.”
• The good news is that we have some help fighting Tillerson’s nomination. Republicans are casting doubt on his nomination and demanding an official inquiry into Russia’s influence over the election.

…AND THAT’S NOT ALL

Tillerson doesn’t have the experience that being our top diplomat requires. International diplomacy is full of strict protocols that the US must follow to be taken seriously, and Tillerson has never had to work within that system.

Secretary of State is a serious job. We cannot trust Tillerson to do the right thing for the United States when that could put his company, his personal fortune, or his pal Putin at risk.

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