Russia envoy pick has his work cut out for him
If confirmed, Huntsman would bring ambassadorial experience to post at perilous time for U. S. diplomacy
President Trump is nominating former Utah governor Jon Huntsman to be U. S. ambassador to Russia, at a time of ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election.
Huntsman, 57, a Republican, served two other stints as an ambassador: in Singapore, under President George H. W. Bush, and in China, under President Barack Obama.
Here’s what you should know about him:
POPULAR UTAH GOVERNOR
Huntsman was one of Utah’s most popular governors, serving nearly five years from 2005 to 2009, with an approval rating of nearly 90% at one point.
Under his leadership, Utah was rated the best- managed state in the country in 2008 by the Pew Center.
He cut taxes by more than $ 400 million, expanded the state’s economy and pursued increased teacher compensation, as well as better student access to literacy, math and science programs. The state’s employment level improved during the 2008 recession, according to the Utah State Capitol website.
WORK IN SINGAPORE, CHINA
Huntsman served as ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1993. He was ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. In China, Huntsman’s name was blocked from search engines for a while over his appearance near a small protest in Beijing, according to the Associated Press.
Huntsman resigned to campaign unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination. In 2012, he was appointed to the boards of directors of Ford and Caterpillar.
CLASHES WITH TRUMP
Huntsman eventually supported Trump in 2016 despite “fundamental philosophical differences” but pulled his endorsement in October after the Access Hollywood tape surfaced in which Trump boasted about fondling women. Huntsman described the campaign as “nothing but a race to the bottom.”
Trump had criticized Huntsman when he was ambassador to Beijing. In a series of tweets in 2011 and 2012, Trump called Huntsman a “lightweight” and “weak” and claimed that China “did a major number on us” during his tenure, the AP reported.
A STRATEGIC THINKER
In 2014, in his first extended public comments as chairman of the Atlantic Council think tank, Huntsman called Russia’s aggressive moves in Ukraine “a wake- up call” for the West about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aspirations to rebuild the former Soviet empire.
Huntsman said that because 50% of Russia’s trade involves selling oil and natural gas to Europe, the U. S. should punish Moscow “where it hurts the most” by working with allies to replace some of that Russian energy with U. S. exports.