Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is taking a six-day trip to Asia this week, but he faces some problems at home that might complicate the already delicate process he’ll navigate abroad.
“I feel like he’s landing in the region at a very volatile time, a very confusing time,” GroundTruth Project Director Charlie Sennott told “Boston Public Radio” today.
Sennott explained how Tillerson’s continuing wait for a state department deputy and a 37 percent cut in foreign aid and diplomatic spending might add to the challenges he’ll face in Asia.
“North Korea has now launched 4 intermediate range missiles into the Sea of Japan last week. You’ve got the impeachment of President Park in South Korea. So there’s a lot of instability in the region, and you have to have an organized approach,” he said. “Whoever gets that job as the deputy has to be named soon.”
More controversy has surrounded Tillerson because of his decision not to travel with the press — a break with precedent. Normally, secretaries of state would travel with the press pool.
Tillerson has not given any interviews since he was appointed, and he has not appeared on any of the Sunday talk shows.
Sennott said Tillerson had a similar relationship to the press while he was CEO at ExxonMobil.
“His quiet could be interpreted as a more corporate approach. [Corporate figures] don’t want to make a lot of splash; they want to stay out of the media,” he said. “That approach doesn’t work when you’re the secretary of state, and I’m worried about this trip to Asia.”
Charlie Sennott is a news analyst at WGBH News, where he also heads up the GroundTruth Project. To hear his interview in its entirety, click on the audio link above.
