Based on the transition team’s comments regarding Tillerson’s alleged relationship with Putin, it appears that the US foreign relations with Russia will be shifting to a more positive one under the Trump administration
With 37 days from Inauguration Day, the President-elect is continuing to make headlines, this time due to having been selected as Time Magazine’s prestigious ‘Person of the Year’.
The President-Elect appears to be adjusting quickly to his new position, as he is well on his way to forming his administration, with 12 people already selected for his Cabinet, well over the 50% mark, putting him at a significant arm’s length of President Obama in 2008. Among these new appointments, Governor Rick Perry of Texas has been newly appointed as the Secretary of Energy. Gov. Perry is well known for his work and accomplishments in the energy sector in the state of Texas, including having contributed to having the only state with its own electrical power grid. According to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz:
““Gov. Perry will make a terrific Secretary of Energy. For 14 years, he led the State of Texas, and with low taxes, restrained spending, and limited regulation, Texas became one of the greatest economic powerhouses in the world… he understands the importance of our country’s energy resources not only to our economy, but also to our national security.”
Of the most recent selections to Trump’s office is the CEO of Exxon Mobile, Rex Tillerson. With news of this nomination coming out yesterday, there’s already contention and controversy regarding Tillerson’s relationship with foreign leaders.
Based on the transition team’s comments regarding Tillerson’s alleged relationship with Putin, it appears that the US’s foreign relations with Russia will be shifting to a more positive one under the Trump administration. In response to allegations that many Republican senators have expressed concerns regarding Tillerson’s relationship with Vladimir Putin, the transition team said that Tillerson’s “relationship with Putin is to make sure that he understands what American interests are, fighting for American interests”. Tillerson was described as “a world class leader who has relationships throughout the world”.
Earlier this month, President-elect Trump established the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum and announced an initial round of 16 members. The Forum will be called upon to meet with the President frequently to share their specific experience and knowledge as the President implements his economic agenda and to advise him on policy matters. The President-Elect has announced that Travis Kalanick of Uber, Elon Musk of SpaceX and Tesla, and Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo to Join President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.
Further, Donald Trump has been attending Intelligence Briefings three times a week, all alongside daily updates from General Flynn.
Alongside this, he has not only been attending meetings on a daily basis, with people ranging from Bill Gates to Kanye West, but has been attending ‘Thank You America’ rallies, of which he has 3 more scheduled this week, in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Alabama, but has also been organizing round-tables to initiate discourse regarding his visions for America.
One such gathering is taking place today, the tech summit taking place at 2 PM, bringing together leaders in the technology sector from various companies, including: Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Tesla, etc.
There are speculations as to whether there will be tensions among some of those in attendance and the President-Elect, due to the shared negative history among several of the leaders and Donald Trump. Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who will be in attendance, openly supported Hillary Clinton during the election, and had been called out by Donald Trump in 2013 through Twitter.
The transition team claimed that the fact that the President-Elect has organized and will be instigating this meeting proves how dedicated he is to the American people and his dedication to his work, as he is demonstrating his “open-mind” by “meeting with the tech council today, a lot of these folks didn’t support him” but that he understands as President, he needs to prioritize his nation and his people’s needs.
The President-Elect continues with his busy schedule, and has scheduled an official press conference for January. We will resume our Daily Download tomorrow with the latest updates on transition.
Read more: We Must Be Hesitant To Frame Russian Cyber Hack As Necessarily “Pro-Trump.”