About Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson served as U.S. Secretary of State from February 2017 to March 2018. During his tenure, he described the administration's approach to North Korea as a "peaceful pressure campaign," which he said was the same as what President Donald Trump called the "maximum pressure campaign." Tillerson stated that the re-designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in November 2017 was a step to hold the country accountable for actions including assassinations and the use of banned chemical weapons. He said the sanctions were having an effect, citing fuel shortages and reduced revenues, and expressed hope that the pressure would lead Kim Jong Un to reverse the nuclear weapons program.
Tillerson was fired by President Trump on March 13, 2018, and announced he would delegate his responsibilities to Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan to ensure a smooth transition. In his farewell address to State Department staff, he said the department had "exceeded the expectations of almost everyone" with the North Korea pressure campaign and noted accomplishments including ceasefires in Syria and the adoption of a South Asia strategy. He also said Russia must "assess carefully" its actions, warning that continuing on its current trajectory could lead to "greater isolation." In his final remarks, Tillerson told staff that Washington "can be a very mean-spirited town" but that "you don't have to choose to participate in that."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Rex Tillerson's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Narrator0:00
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is on a wide-ranging diplomatic mission this week in the Middle East. His trip began Monday in Egypt, from there he went to Kuwait and Jordan, and his trip finishes with stops in Lebanon and Turkey. Tillerson announced two hundred million dollars in aid this week to rebuild Syria, which is still engulfed in a years-long civil war. Margit Brennan spoke with Tillerson for an interview 60 minutes before his trip. They discussed his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and here is a preview.
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Margit Brennan0:30
You've said you had a very close relationship with Vladimir Putin. You've done huge deals with him, photos of you toasting him with champagne, and all that closeness raised eyebrows. It even inspired a Saturday Night Live skit. Did you ever see that skit?
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Rex Tillerson0:44
I did. My kids pointed me to it.
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Margit Brennan0:54
Did you laugh?
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Rex Tillerson0:56
Absolutely, absolutely. I laughed that loud.
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Margit Brennan1:00
But since you're Secretary of State now, you've accused him of violating nuclear arms-control agreements, of cheating on North Korea sanctions, letting Assad continue now to use chlorine gas chemical weapons on civilians. He doesn't seem to be particularly concerned about the warnings you're giving.
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Rex Tillerson1:18
Well, I don't know. We'll see if he's concerned or not. What our responsibility is... six chlorine gas attacks in the past 30 days, that's correct, and we have called them out for the fact that Russia has special responsibilities in our view because of commitments they made to destroy chemical weapons and ensure they knew that there were not.
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Margit Brennan1:40
That sounds a lot like the last administration. Doesn't sound very different.
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Rex Tillerson1:44
Well, when it comes to killing people with chemical weapons, that shouldn't look any different. I think the only difference is the consequences for it, and President Trump has already demonstrated there will be consequences.
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Margit Brennan1:56
Does that mean military action is still on the table?
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Rex Tillerson1:58
It was in April last year. We are serious about our demands that chemical weapons not become regularized or normalized as a weapon in any conflict.
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Narrator2:12
Margaret Brennan is with us now. Good morning, Margaret. We're looking forward to this interview on 60 minutes. What did you learn about in terms of potential future air strikes in Syria?
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Margit Brennan2:20
Well, that was the April incident that he mentioned when the U.S. launched air strikes in response to the sarin gas attack. And what's remarkable here is he puts chlorine gas in that same category, saying we could take military action again. And if you look at what you've been hearing this week, there's been a drumbeat. The president of France just also said, 'I have a red line' about continued use of chemical weapons in Syria. Tillerson also said this week not only we've seen chlorine gas but we're looking into reports of sarin. It is clear that despite the Trump administration's hardline response, it has not stopped Syria from continuing to use these, and it hasn't convinced Russia to really implement what they promised they would do here. So it's an interesting thing for him to draw that hard line.
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Narrator3:04
Well, we don't want to give too much away, so we'll watch on Sunday. I know you talked about his relationship with the president. Margaret, thank you so much. And you can see Margaret's full interview with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Sunday night on 60 minutes. Watch it 7, 6 central, right here on CBS.
