exxon mobil ceo rex tillerson. tillerson is a millionaire many times over with the wealth of global business experience but no formal political or diplomatic experience. his nomination drawing praise and concern at the same time. do in large part to his long-standing business relationship with russian president vladimir putin. that may be a problem for some of trump's own party. like this guy. republican senator marco rubio. putting out a statement this morning saying in part that he has serious concerns about tillerson. and he's not alone there. but tillerson also picked up big endorsements from the likes of former secretaries of state condoleezza rice and james baker. this is the confirmation battle to watch, i can promise you, so stay tuned there. also new in transition this morning the president-elect has tapped former governor rick perry to head up the energy department. the same rick perry who said he wants to get rid of that department, even though sometimes he forgets which department he's talking about. we

tillerson is not quite a rudy giuliani. he's not the sort of long-time loyalist, but he doesn't raise a lot of the red flags in terms of temperament, in terms of stamina, and other concerns that had kind of bubbled up over the course of the last few weeks within his inner circle. the never-romney folks and the romney folks look at tillerson as someone who can satisfy both camps. they have a lot of similar attributes in terms of being global business leaders. trump believes they have the stature. they can stand up in a room with vladimir putin and look eye to eye with those folks. that's very important to him. >> the biggest problem for tillerson at this point, before we get digging into other things that are there, because this is new, is really a problem that trump is creating for him, which is the perspective that he's close to putin and that there's another layer of compromise with this odd/bizarre reluctance of trump and the people around him to call russia and vladimir putin for what it is. >> yeah, it's striking to me

at this point we don't know what rex tillerson believes. we know what he's done as the ceo of exxon where he did an awful lot of business with russia. he became a friend of vladimir putin's. but we also don't know, for example, wolf, what would he do on the iran nuclear deal. he wasn't opposed to the iran nuclear deal. i should say exxon wasn't necessarily because it would open potentially oil markets for them. they were for tpp at one point. they did not -- tillerson did not oppose the paris climate deal. so, until you get him before that committee and you get to ask him these questions about what would you do as secretary of state for donald trump to implement what donald trump believes, let's hear the answers to his questions, and we'll all be curious to hear what he says about putin. we'll all be curious to hear what he says about china, and we'll all be curious to hear whether he believes he can do deals on a geopolitical scale on behalf of the united states with russia, as he did as the ceo of exxon. i am interested to hear what he's

first to the tillerson flap backlash that we are seeing. look, they're bracing for a fierce fight in that senate confirmation hearing. they know they're going to get one, but they feel confident, they say, that ultimately he will be confirmed. and you've started to see them really lay out the case for tillerson over the weekend. the president-elect himself saying that tillerson is a dealmaker. someone who's done deals internationally, all across the world. trying to paint the fact that he has these ties to russia as a positive. which, of course, runs counter to so much of the policy that we've seen promoted by republicans. it's a real sea change to try to have a secretary of state that has these close ties to russia. so they know they're going to get a fight. but as you know better than anybody, katy, when the president-elect digs in, he doesn't let go. that's effectively what we're seeing. i wouldn't be surprised if he hear him again make the case for rex tillerson tonight in milwaukee. he knows he's facing a big fight and he's prepared to

nicole, on tillerson, what do you make of it? >> i don't think this is about tillerson. i think this is about putin have be instincts about russia -- did i say putin? i meant trump. having a body of statements about about putin. we talked last night about lindsey graham, marco rubio, who are not really in sync with donald trump's musings about putin. so i think they will use the questioning of rex tillerson to sort of probe how he as secretary of state will approach putin's russia. will he ask for an accounting of the allegations about hacking? will he try to get list boss, donald trump, whole be president trump i guess in 36 days. closer to their view about putin and russia and about where this country should stand in terms of being more adversarial or at left tougher. >> eugene, i'm looking at your latest column. trump is assembling an antigovernment. did russia help him get here? very provocative. what do you think is going on? >> look, the backdrop is, that our intelligence community put out a statement on october 7th, before the election, it's pressing confidence th

now comes at not an opportune time for rex tillerson. donald trump doubling down here and he has the support of recent secretaries of state, condoleezza rice among them. look for a bruising confirmation hearing as we go forward here. once if he would happen to get confirmed an open question about what type of secretary of state he would be. >> well, let me put that to you because jeff mentioned condoleezza rice, supporting the pick of rex tillerson. she said rex tillerson is an excellent choice for secretary of state. he will bring to the post remarkable and broad experience, deep understanding of the global economy and belief in america's special role in the world. so are critics wrong about tillerson, elise? >> well, carol, it's not necessarily unprecedented. you know, you have had very successful secretaries of state like george schultz who ran a big corporation like pectel. certainly rex tillerson has a knowledge of the world, international experience in dealing with world leaders. diplomacy is very different to business deal making,

tillerson's. and whether these tentacle that reach out and the octopus at the head which is trump, what does it mean? we need to know and these hearings need to tell us about donald trump i's business in russia. we need to know his family's business in russia and how it relates to is this going to be a national krejcash register for family? those questions all come together and should hinge on the hearings. >> clearly democrats are raising all sorts of objections to tillerson. but he's a ceo. very much in the making of donald trump and obviously some republicans. >> yeah it is interesting that the people who recommended him have a very different world view than donald trump does. >> and in fact gates was very critical of him. >> critically of him and, you know, were obviously condaleezza rice was very involved in the iraq war. so it is interesting that he looks to these people for advice. i agree we have to sort of wait and see for the hearings. but one of the issues i think to be concerned about

tillerson has no foreign policy experience. he's built business relationships, though, with many, many world leaders, including a close one with russian president vladimir putin while he's spent 40 years at exxon. that relationship could make his confirmation hearings more difficult, with senators on both sides of the aisle expressing concern. formers secretaries of state condoleezza rice, james baker, along with bob gates recommended tillerson to trump. that's what got him in the running at all. we're continuing, of course, to follow this breaking story. also, the president-elect tweeting that he will be delaying his first post-election news conference where he had been expected on thursday to discuss potential conflicts of interest with his businesses and the presidency. here's what he tweeted. even though i'm not mandated to do so by law, i will be leaving my businesses before january 20th so that i can focus full time on the presidency. two of my children, don and eric, plus executives, will manage them. no new deals will b

but on the tillerson kochlation proceedings he thinks that tillerson was the very best choice in his words for donald trump to choose as secretary of state even though corker himself was considered as a possible secretary of state choice. but when i pressed him i said, well, look, what do you know about his views about russia and about russia's -- about russia policy? he really did not have an answer. he said that we need to explore that further in the confirmation proceedings. so it goes to show you, anderson, there's a lot of questions that members of congress still have about rex tillerson. >> manu raja. thanks very much. jeffrey, obviously questions about russia will be front and center in any confirmation hearing. >> sure. of course. and that's fair game. that's totally fair. he's going to be secretary of state. so it's up to him to present his world view and most importantly represent the president. one of the things that i find interesting here is the fact that he's a businessman and a ceo of a company. i mean, how many lawyers do we have in the united states senate? how many

i'm talking about exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson. he is the man the president-elect would like to serve

rex tillerson. yeah, there's a name that lights up a room, rex tillerson. did you know this, rex tillerson was once the president of the boy scouts of america. yeah. of course, as donald trump calls that government experience. >> former vice president kick cheney today praised donald trump's secretary of state pick rex tillerson calling him an inspired choice. so tillerson has the support of kick cheney, vladimir putin and donald trump. that only leaves one person. >> excellent. >> it's unanimous. >> tillerson is an interesting pick. for one thing, he's an oil man who believes in climate change. he believes in it, he's from exxon. he invented it. >> kanye west actually showed up to meet with donald trump at trump tower. people were shocked. they didn't expect the two to meet until the first presidential debate in 2020. >> that's right. kanye west met with donald trump at trump tower today. no word on what they interrupted each other about. >> they do have a lot in common. they're both fashion designers. they both go on twitter rants. they both use all caps.

if rex tillerson is nominated or confirmed. the big oil ceo would be the ambassador on climate change. he is under investigation for misleading shareholders. tillerson is by no means a climate change denier. since taking the helm in 2006, he shifted the exxon stance admitting the climate change is real. in 2007, he said the risk of greenhouse gasses could be significant. in 2009, he endorsed a carbon tax on businesses over the proposed cap and trade policy. exxon mobile supported the paris agreement recently. speaking at a conference last month, tillerson said it helps world governments work together to solve the issue. tillerson's history could put him at odds with donald trump who ripped into the paris agreement on the campaign trail and said nobody really knows if climate change is real. >>> there is strong reaction to the tillerson nomination and it is all from moscow. let's get the latest from cnn's matthew chance live in moscow. >> reporter: george, the potential nomination of rex tillerson as secretary of state, has been

tillerson as secretary of state. i think it will raise red flags in congress including among republicans who happen to be some of the hawkish lawmakers out there when it comes to russia. >> malcolm, talk about what conflicts of interests this might present. >> a myriad of conflicts of interest. he represented exxon mobil in russia and their development. to we want a secretary of state who is going to be working hand in hand first and foremost for the u.s. and russian petrochemical industries, but most importantly, he has a very deep relationship with vladimir putin that extends back to when putin was the director of the fsb, which is the modified version of the kgb, and as my compatriot said a moment ago this is going to raise great questions in front of congress. does this person who speaks very highly of putin, who has got the order of friendship from russia, will he accurately represent the interests of the united states first or will he still be part of that kabal from the kremlin that donald trump appears to hav

now, i don't know rex tillerson. he may be the world's most sage and thoughtful person, but i don't think the precedents are promising. >> are you concerned about russia meddling in our allies elections, in france trying to win power? >> well you know, i don't think the russians need to do that much meddling in france. right now you've got marine lepin leading the pack, far right wing, took major loans from russian banks that basically had to have vladimir putin's approval, and then you've got the next contender after her and he is very, very pro-putin, says he had a great working relationship with putin when fione was prime minister, and generally thinks that europe should be much closer to russia, so why the russians would want to meddle in france, i'm not sure. germany is another matter. chancellor merkel is somebody who does stand up to russia on se certain issues, she's leery of what's going on in terms of russia trying to break down in a tows's solidarity so you may see some interference there but those electio

>> rex tillerson is a tough guy. and you know what, at the astronauts, musicians, other americans, canadians, a lot of folks have gotten this award. but the truth is that having relationships with people is not a bad thing. i don't know how we got to the place where having an actual functional relationship with someone who might not be a person that we first think of to have that relationship is suddenly a bad thing. >> senator chris murphy from connecticut and most importantly on foreign relations committee. i can't think of a better committee to be on right now senator. >> a lot of action right now. >> and what is the ratio of republicans to democrats? >> it is a two-vote majority for republicans. so if one republican on that committee votes against one of these nominees it is a deadlocked vote and the committee process, the vice president doesn't break the tie. >> so marco rubio is the man on the horse here. >> i think everyone will have a lot to say here. i don't know how these republicanes who have been owe vice

ceo of exxon mobile rex tillerson. there are already signs of trouble ahead for tillerson's nomination. there's uncertainty overviews of climate change and questions about his close relationship with vladimir putin. raising concerns on both sides of the alisle. we get more from cnn's phil mattingly at trump tower. >> reporter: george and christine. the pick is in. the president-elect will announce that rex tillerson, exxon ceo is his selection for secretary of state. he intends to nominate the ceo because the two just hit it off. they found a fit. they share similar world views and business backgrounds as deal makers. it comes down to three people. condeleeza rice and two others who recommended rex tillerson to the president-elect. now he will be the president-elect's top diplomat. that doesn't mean he will have clear sailing through the confirmation process. democrats raised concerns about the nomination. republicans have primarily because of tillerson's ties to russia. exxon as an oil company has done numerous deals

i don't know rex tillerson that well. i will tell you at least from my conversations with him, i'm pretty comfortable. i'm very comfortable actually in him being able to do the job. my biggest concerns have to do with russia, israel, and management of the state department. because as david sanger said, the state department will cut you into a million pieces. if you're a ceo that says i'm used to doing what i want to do and i say i'm going to do this, they will chop you up day in and day out with leaks. i will tell you this, if john bolton is rex tillerson's number two, i am very, very concerned because bolton doesn't have what it takes to nail the place down while tillerson is overseas. by the way, why would donald trump pick a guy who still thinks invading iraq was a good idea? this is madness by the way. i keep hearing john bolton's name. this guy still believes knowing everything that we know that we should have invaded iraq. how does that line up with anything donald trump -- >> with his world view. over the course of

tillerson left the meeting believing he's going to get the job. we're told no official announcement on who trump will pick or has chosen will happen until the middle of the upcoming week. the president-elect praised tillerson during a new interview with fox news. here's a portion of it. >> in his case he's much more than a business executive. he's a world-class player. he's in charge of i guess the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. >> all right. let's talk about this. we have with us cnn political commentator and anchor for spectrum news errol lewis and senior politics political reporter steven collins. good morning to both of you. >> good morning. >> the president-elect there says that rex tillerson is much more than a business executive but then lists off all of his business cred densals. errol to you, preemtsium that donald trump, obviously, is placing on that as he picks a diplomat to speak on behalf of the u.s.? >> well, you know, calling exxonmobi

we're talking rex tillerson. his nomination this morning prompting bipartisan concerns about his close ties to russia and vladimir putin but who is this long time exxonmobil man who will represent the u.s. around the world? joining me now is msnbc's ali velshi and nbc foreign correspondent ayman mohyeldin. rex tillerson has only had one employer since leaving school, exxon, exxon, exxon. woven into who this man is and extraordinary experience dealing with foreign government. >> was also the ability that rex tillerson had to maintain relationships across the world in many places that aren't the easiest places to have relationships in during many different administrations, so obviously, he's very good at being a diplomat. >> very good at being a diplomat, but is he? what he was doing before is dealing with vladimir putin, you'd like to make money, we'd like to make money. let's go to the arctic, the gulf of mexico. >> ceo have great relationships in the world. that's nonsense what reince priebus is saying. it is fa

tillerson is somebody who is well-known in russia. i mean, he's done hundreds of billions of dollars worth of deals as the head of exxon with the russian government. he knows the players very well. that was, of course, one of the reasons donald trump says he is considering him. from a russian point of view, you have somebody they regard as a friend of russia, it opens up all sorts of possibilities in this relationship between the united states and russia. it's been at post cold worrilar over syria, eastern ukraine. with a friend of russia, supposedly in the white house and a position of secretary of state, that could really change. it's got people in russia genuinely excited. >> really? i mean, he did receive an award, the order of friendship, one of the highest awards that russia bestows on foreign citizens a few year ago. cnn money is reporting a fascinatie inine ining tidbit t. one of the reasons tillerson was selected for ceo of exxonmobil in 2006 was because of his relationship with russia. do you know how far back that goes? >>

if senator marco rubio votes no, tillerson could be rejected. or republicans could do maneuvering and get the tillerson recommendation to the full senate bypassing the committee. if they all vote no he needs all there but two to vote yes. at least four republicans have expressed concerns about the pick, which would theoretically sink his nomination unless some vulnerable democrats in energy-rich states decide to back tillerson. manu raju joins me now. the trump campaign will have to get organized to get this nominee through. >> no question about it, jake. especially since democrats by and large are signaling they'll oppose this nomination, particularly the senator -- democratic senators on the foreign relations committee. that means that there is virtually no margin for error, particularly if you start to see significant defections within republican ranks. one good piece of news for the trump campaign, for those republican senators who have expressed concern is that they're not saying they'll oppose the pick. they are willing to listen to what m

then you add rex tillerson. and on climate change, what we're looking at is government of exxon by exxon and for exxon. but it is really important to recognize this is emblematic of a broader trend we are seeing in trump's nomination. where in one agency after another, he is put people in charge of agencies that are patently hostile to both the agency itself and to the people and places, though -- the agencies are designed to protect. the epa is looking to move us 100 years backward in time and undo 100 years of environmental and social progress. amy: and finally, bill mckibben, one of his transition team representatives said today on one of the talk shows that this is a man he was very a conflict and business, will be reviewing the budget of the state department, who should be there and who should not. we hear about the department of energy. donald trump just said he would be deciding very soon after becoming president what to do about the dakota access pipeline -- which the obama administration has said no to

tillerson. >> tillerson certainly has his heavyweight supporters. among them, condoleezza rice, who said today he was an excellent choice for secretary of state. he will bring to the post remarkable and broad international experience. bob gates said, i strongly endorse the president-elect's selection of rex tillerson to be the next secretary of state. well, both rice and gates, it should be known, have done consulting work, for money, for exxonmobil. another voice of support for tillerson was the former vice president and former ceo of halliburton, dick cheney. he said, the selection of rex tillerson to be secretary of state is an inspired choice. i have known rex for many years, both in his role as the chairman and ceo of exxon and as a personal friend. i'm confident he will do a superb job promoting our national interests in dealing with the complex and difficult joyces on the agenda for the next administration. that's dick cheney. i'm joined now by senator rand paul of kentucky, a member of the foreign relations committee. thank god you're on tha

tillerson. i will ask him the same question i asked the others. do you understand the historic lesson that the iraq war was a failure, a strategic mistake? that's what donald trump says. i know john bolton is still a cheerleader for the iraq war. he promoted a nuclear attack by israel on iran. he wants to do regime change in iran. i think john bolton is so far out of it, a naive understanding of the world, if he were to be the assistant for tillerson, i'm a no on bolton. he should get nowhere close to the state department. >> for more reaction to the report that the cia thinks russia was trying to help donald trump in the election, let's bring in peter alexander. what is the president-elect saying about this today? >> the bottom line is, we're witnessing this extraordinary breach, this tension now between the president-elect and the intelligence community that provides him with the analysis in this case suggesting that russia did play a role in hacking information with the intention of trying to

and tillerson is at the center of it. exxonmobil and russia's rosneft have an outstanding oil deal in the arctic, russia valued at $500 billion. a deal so important, after it, he was given that russian medal of friendship. but the deal is on hold because of u.s. sanctions. >> obviously the conflict of interest is something that is written on mr. tillerson forehead. >> written on his forehead? >> written on his forehead. >> conflict of interest? >> yes. >> as far as russia's concerned? >> hundred percent. >> reporter: as secretary of state, tillerson will be able to push for the lifting of the sanctions against russia, something he lobbied for as a ceo. richard engel, nbc news, moscow. >>> now to the brutal four-year-long battle for aleppo that appears to be near its end this evening, the russian government, allied with the syrian regime, said today that military action has ceased in eastern aleppo, claiming syrian forces have taken control of the city from rebels. as our bill neely reports, civilians are still scrambling

tillerson acting for exxon. it's not even mr. tillerson. the question here is whether donald trump, a novice in the area of foreign affairs, is going to, by himself, throw aside a decade of american foreign policy to oppose, principal principally, the decision by russia to invade another country. this is about russia's decision to invade its neighbor, ukraine. and all the problems since have -- >> a sovereign country. but another clarity about the war in iraq. there was some time many years ago, jamie, one might have been excused for believing that iraq had weapons of mass destruction and perhaps they were behind al qaeda and all of these things. there is really very little reason in 2016 to have that belief and yet we expect that the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., john bolton being nominated as deputy secretary of state, what he told the washington examiner last year. i think the decision to overthrow saddam was correct but i think the decisions after that were wrong. i think wost was the decision to withdraw u.s. and coalition forces

tillerson is a controversial pick. the first reason is he has no prior government experience, much like president-elect donald trump and the other reason, of course, is the one that you mentioned, his close ties, businesses the, i should say, to russia and russian president vladimir putin. of course, the backdrop for these concerns about tillerson's ties to russia is the concern that russia may have interfered with the u.s. elections and this is, of course, an issue that many republicans are now saying they want to look into further. already we are seeing some republicans sort of voicing their concerns about the tillerson nomination. we have heard senator john mccain, for example, saying putin is a thug and murderer and he can't understand why anyone would be friends with him. senator marco rubio is also weighing in and i want to read part of his statement. rubio writing "while rex tillerson is a respected businessman, i have serious concerns about his nomination. the next secretary of state must be someone who views t

it is certainly rex tillerson. exxon is like a country. it is one of the five or six largest operations in the world. energy is a very important business. exxon has its own intelligence department, which is very good, they do forecasting of the very same kind that the cia does, he's had a dry run for this job in a way that very few ceo's have had. two things i worry about, what is good for ex-season not always what's good for america. exxon did a deal with the kurds, in which they got the oil from northern iraq. the state department, the national security council, the defense department all said was a bad idea, because it would break iraq apart. exxon said, we don't care. it's good for our shareholders, perfectly fine, perfectly appropriate, we hope that as he transitions to be secretary of state, he will put the interest of the broader interests of the country. and it's quite possible he will, it's quite -- one should hope and expect he will. the puzzle here does remain the russia angle, it's not rex tillerson, he's a fine businessman, he

in tillerson we saw someone who has the business background. tillerson is an eagle scout and trump went to new york naval committee. pete: trump is the head of the boy scotts, too, right? >> right. trump reveres military figures but he also has an affection for those who have kind of a boy scott mentally and i hear tillerson very much impressed trump in the interview. pete: he's been praised by some former bush administration officials in addition to gates. continuedy rice, former secretary of state james baker but i'm wondering how the hill is going to respond to this sit for sure he'll be confirmed? >> i think he has a pretty good shot. i think there was a lot of rumbling coming from some republican senators that gave democrats perhaps some hope that they have a chance to block him. some concerns vocation -- voiced about his connections to russia. but i think they can be convinced to go along with it. especially with the vote of confident from folks like condoleezza rice and bill gates. >> you know the upside of rex tillerson is nobody has de

tillerson, for example, has a close business relationship with vladimir putin of russia. the lifelong oil man has no government experience, but he did convince exxon to acknowledge climate change. also today, mr. trump picked another texan, former governor rick perry, to head the energy department, a department that perry once vowed to scrap. major garrett begins our coverage. >> we just couldn't be more grateful that someone of rex tillerson's proven will leadership and accomplishment has been willing to step forward to serve our nation as our next secretary of state. >> reporter: rex tillerson's move from exxon-mobil c.e.o. to secretary of state nominee began with a meeting last month between vice president-elect mike pence and former secretary of state condoleezza rice. rice, along with fellow former secretary of state james baker and former defense secretary robert gates strongly recommended tillerson for the post. after his second face-to-face meeting with mr. trump on saturday, tillerson emerged as the president-elect's choice, beating out candidates such as mitt ro

. >> he's the opposite of rex tillerson. tension is good, i guess, for a team of rivals, but this is alex jones territory to talk about a falsified operation. why would barack obama to have hillary clinton have her e-mails leaked? it hurt her terribly. he endorsed her. it's nonsense. >> still ahead on "morning joe," donald trump meets with another former rival. >> we talked about the opportunity that the president-elect has to literally reset things. to reset the trajectory of this economy, to reset the role of government, to reset america's role in the world and how we're perceived in the world. and i think it's why he's getting such fantastic people in his administration. >> is there a role for carly fiorina in the trump administration? the former presidential candidate joins us ahead for an exclusive interview. >>> plus, former u.s. ambassador to russia, mike mcfaul joins the conversation. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. world ugly and messy. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are. yes,

tillerson is going to get there. he's certainly the pick that's most at risk and he hasn't even been formally picked yet. >> president-elect trump did discuss tillerson, the idea of him amongst others on fox. i want to play a little bit of the way he was discussing tillerson. >> well, in his case he's much more than a business executive. i mean, he's a world-class player. he's in charge of i guess the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. it's been a company that's been unbelievably managed. >> it's not double the size of the next largest competitor, which is shell, but that's not the issue here. this is where president-elect trump is saying, he's a businessman, knows how to handle this. it's a $370 billion turnover company or more or less, somewhere in that range, one of top ten profitable companies in the world. he deals with 50 countries and their leaders. this is why he's good. >> well, there's a big difference between lea

tillerson's years of experience on the global stage as a negotiator for the oil giant, but tillerson's deep ties to russian president vladimir putin are raising serious concerns for a possible confirmation process in the senate. still, the president-elect keeping his cards close to the vest on just who will become america's top diplomat. >> have you settled on a secretary of state? >> i'm getting very close. i'm getting very, very close. >> do you know who it's going to be? >> i just have -- i have someone in mind that i think will be really fabulous. i think we're going to have one of the great cabinets ever put together. >> all right. let's go to brian now outside live there in front of trump tower and here in new york city with the latest. so everyone is asking, brian, why is rex tillerson now the leading candidate to be secretary of state? >> reporter: good afternoon, arthel. if you listen to the president-elect and his aides, it's clear mr. trump is impressed with the exxonmobil ceo's ability to make deals. rex tillerson has been ceo of exxonmobil since 2006. he's helped that comp

that was under tillerson. it's good for our shareholders, perfectly fine, perfectly appropriate, we hope that as he transitions to be secretary of state, he will put the interest of the broader interests of the country. and it's quite possible he will, it's quite -- one should hope and expect he will. the puzzle here does remain the russia angle, it's not rex tillerson, he's a fine businessman, he's done what he should do for his company. but if you add it all together, donald trump's repeated soft generous statements toward putin and russia, the appointment of mike flynn who has taken money the give banquets honoring putin and the russians. now, tillerson, you wonder whether there is some kind of strange pro russian tilt here that is inexplicable. i have to say, i think that it would be wrong to cast apersians on rex tillerson without giving him a chance to explain some of this, he has a lot of the background you would look for in a highly competent secretary of state. >> i want to bring in the general now. b

trump calls tillerson a world-class dealmaker. even republican lawmakers are weary of his close russian connections including senator marco rubio. he said this on twitter. being a friend of putin is not an at tra btribute i am hoping secretary of state. >> and what if donald trump picks him? i'm joined by cristina alesci and elise labbette. tell us about this? >> putin's quote in 2014 called exxon an old reliable partner. the reality, exxon has been operating in russia 20 years but tillerson helped strengthen ties between the company and russia. he was the architect between exxon's biggest deal there, the two partnered on a big oil development in the black sea, the arctic, in siberia. they signed aventure in 2011 and important for russia. it has plenty of oil but not the technology to develop it all's for that it depends on partners like the united states. now, exxon reported that agreement was for s 64 million acres, theize of oregon to put it in context. the deal should have been profitable for exxon. in 2014, the eu imposed san

rex tillerson. donald trump simply went through all processes, met with everybody, decided he liked this guy and decided it was worth it to take on this fight. good reason to think he's going to win. right? looking at maybe three, four, five republicans who might vote no. none of them actually said they'll vote no. what they'll do, wait and see if rex tillerson can reassure him as secretary of state he would defend american interests not exxon interests. if he can say and do the right things between now and then, probably get through even though most democrats will oppose him. >> matt, to be clear, this is someone, he has a lot of knowledge. he knows russia. he knows the middle east, but he's going to have to take off one hat that he's been wearing now for decades, working for exxon, and going to have to put on another one. basically use his knowledge, perhaps for a very different reason. right? >> those will be at the forefront of those questions that lindsay graham and john mccain and others are f

that's not the case with rex tillerson. reese actually done more interviews with the boy scouts of america, to your point he's very passionate about, than in the general or media business. he has a very good reputation. if you think about can rex tillerson truly unwind himself from exxon, to ari's point he has to sell out of all his shares, that will happen. this is the only company he's ever worked at his entire adult life. he is thoroughly threaded into this organization. if he became secretary of state, if he was in a position to influence or lift sanctions against russia, and he has said before as the ceo of exxon he didn't feel good about those sanctions, guess what, exxon would then be able to drill in the arctic and that would be very good for that company. >> i think stephanie makes an interesting point. donald trump ran on saying the system is rigged and what's good for wall street isn't always good for rural tennessee or rural michigan or the forgotten jobs in pennsylvania. it is fascinating, just as a factual obs

how did rex tillerson rise to the top? >> reporter: this was the biggest prize in donald trump's cabinet and that statement put out just moments ago describes rex tillerson as among the most influent business leaders in the world and deal makers and obviously for the man who wrote the deal, donald trump that was one of the most impressive things about tillerson. while he has no government or diplomatic experience he does have years of experience building relationships with world leaders, a point that donald trump has noted on multiple occasions. that includes the leaders of countries like saudi arabia and yemen and with vladimir putin in russia. that's why some members in congress think this could be a contentious confirmation battle going forward. marco rubio saying anyone that's a friend of vladimir is not what i'm looking for in a secretary of state. however, there have been some influential republicans voicing their support for rex tillerson in recent days to donald trump. they include former cabinet members like bob g

trump praised tillerson's contacting around the world but he did not mention tillerson's past ties to russian president vladimir putin. trump looked back at the election victory and thanked his supporters, including house speaker paul ryan who he praised in an unusual way. here's more of what he had to say. >> speaker paul ryan, i've really come to -- oh, no, i've come to appreciate him. speaker paul ryan. where is the speaker? where is he? he has been -- i'll tell you, he has been terrific. you know honestly, he's like a fine wine. every day goes by, i get to appreciate his genius more and more. now, the other goes against me, i'm not going to say that, okay? he's a great guy. and we have some amazing things in store. we're going to work on taxes. we're going to work on obamacare, and he's going to lead the way so thank you. >> reporter: even though it's been more than a month since elected president, trump could not resist taking one last shot at hillary clinton. asking everybody in the crowds whether anybody remembers her name. >> ryan zinke is his pick for interior secretary. he's

he talks with tillerson and how he's so much more than a ceo. >> let me ask you about rex tillerson, head of exxon-mobil. why does a business executive make sense as the chief diplomat? >> in his case, he's much more than a business executive. i mean, he's a world-class player. he's in charge of, i guess, the largest company in the world. he's in charge of an oil company that's pretty much double the size of his next nearest competitor. it's a company that's been unbelievably managed. to me, a grate advantage is he knows many of the players. he knows them well. he does massive deals in russia. he does massive deals for the company, not for himself. for the company. >> he says he knows many of the players. many of the players on the international scene know him as well. bob gates and condoleezza rice brought his name forward and said he would be a substantive pick for secretary of state. >> well-respected at that level. >> the question now is who is rex tillerson. he's not been on the public stage. >> interesting you ask, abby. >> bob murray is the ceo of murray energy. he's known rex

rex tillerson, i think a dream pick. and all of this controversy around his relationship with russia is -- you need experienced warriors. warriors who know where the hardware is. who know what the subtlety of a cultural sixth sense. who know the issues of a historical sense are. who are free of the bureaucracy. so you happen to pick in this man by chance an organization that's bigger than the state department. state department has a budget of 65 billion. exxon mobil is 590 billion in assets. 65 billion in revenue. 50 countries around the world. this man has negotiated, been a diplomat, run a business and has relationships with all of those people. which only to benefit. he's not setting policy. congress is really setting policy. >> right. so it is a great opportunity. and people who think, why is russia the enemy. you need russia to solve the middle east crisis. you need them to respect the united states. but you need someone who understands how to green and harvest that respect. so i think you have to wait until the pre

i want to ask about john bolton, rumored to be the number two for tillerson. what can you tell us about that? >> john bolton is an incredibly experienced man on the world stage. he held high positions in governments before for another president and he's anyone as an expert on many of the issues roiling our nation and the globe. he had a very good meeting with the president-elect. as you see, the vast number, and diverse backgrounds of the state department potential nominees -- more hawkish. what will that mean? i think people are able to hear what he believes and see what he has done. anybody who wants to try to embarrass us at the confirmation hearings better have substantive arguments with respect to these people. 8 years ago at this time or basically a month or two from now, the first cabinet nominees put forward by president obama were confirmed. the republicans confirmed them. that's what they did and they gave a voice vote to hillary clinton as secretary of state. we hope to get more fairness than we are getting now in the press quarters. lou: attraction