Washington — According to some sources, eight years after a democratic President has appointed Jon Huntsman Jr. (Jon M. Huntsman Jr.) U.S. Ambassador to China, candidate of the former Governor of Utah and one of the presidential candidates from the Republican party considered for the post of American Ambassador to Russia.
And as eight years ago, in this selection there is an obvious political implications: if Mr. Huntsman will be sent to Moscow, it will deprive him of the opportunity to become the main rival of 82-year-old Senator from Utah about Orrin Hatch (Orrin Hatch). It is worth noting that, in 2009, when former President Barack Obama appointed him Ambassador to China, many took it as a way to remove Mr. Huntsman from the scene ahead of the presidential campaign of 2012.
In the end, Mr. huntsman still tried to fight for the right to represent Republican party on elections, but failed to progress beyond the primaries, where the leader was MITT Romney (Mitt Romney). It is difficult to say whether it will nominate Mr. trump, Mr. Huntsman was appointed Ambassador to Russia — given the importance of this position and the penchant of the President to test applicants. White house officials, as well as himself, Mr. huntsman declined to comment on the situation.
Earlier, the candidature of Mr. Huntsman was considered for the position of Secretary, and later Deputy Secretary of state. But the source who told him about the content of the talks, which first reported by CNN, said that the post of Ambassador to Russia is a much more likely prospect for Mr. Huntsman. Last week, Mr. huntsman spoke with Mr. trump, and on Monday he met with U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson (Rex W. Tillerson).
The post of U.S. Ambassador in Moscow like Mr. Huntsman is somewhat less than the position of Ambassador to China. In his youth he worked in the Mormon mission in Taiwan, he speaks Chinese, and together with his wife they adopted a Chinese girl. Under President George H. W. Bush, he was U.S. Ambassador to Singapore.
Although the family company of Mr. Huntsman owns several industrial enterprises in Russia and although he was directly involved in establishing a business there, people who know him well maintain that he never claimed to be a deep knowledge of this country. In the past when, Mr. huntsman received a government position, he took full responsibility for the family business to avoid conflict of interest.
Mr. huntsman will be the work of officials with long-standing ties with Russia, such as Mr. Tillerson, who has long headed by ExxonMobil, and he, Mr. trump, whose ties with Russia sparked an avalanche of questions and calls for a thorough investigation.
In the relationship between Mr. Huntsman and Mr. trump was as calm and difficult times. In April 2016, Mr. huntsman was supported by Mr. trump in his quest to fight for the presidency, but he later called on him to quit — it happened after the publication of the video program Access Hollywood, in which Mr. trump made a number of derogatory comments about women. However, according to one of his friends, Mr. Huntsman managed to maintain sufficiently cordial relations with the current President throughout this period.
In December, Mr. huntsman defended the decision for Mr. trump to take a phone call from the President of Taiwan. “As a businessman, Mr. trump sought to find opportunities to influence in any relationship, he said. — President of the trump likely to consider Taiwan as a significant position of influence.”
As for Mr. trump, the reputation of Mr. Huntsman as an experienced Ambassador can help him go through all the necessary procedures in Congress. According to some experts, his experience with the authoritarian government in Beijing will help him to establish a relationship with the same government in Moscow. “In China he had to maintain a very difficult relationship,’ said Jason Perry (Jason Perry P.), Director of the Hinckley Institute of politics at the University of Utah. In the case of Russia, it also is a complex relationship.” However, some former colleagues of Mr. Huntsman in the Obama administration privately expressed concern that, given the unanswered questions about the relationship of Mr. trump and Russia, as a result of work in Russia the reputation of Mr. Huntsman may suffer.
56-year-old Mr. huntsman seemed quite an unexpected choice for the post of Ambassador to China when in may 2009, Mr. Obama nominated him for the position. Then this idea was submitted by Jeffrey Bader (Jeffrey A. Bader), a senior adviser to Mr. Obama on China Affairs, who worked with Mr. Huntsman in the Trade mission of the USA. Mr. Bader thought Mr. Huntsman the candidate that will suit both parties and which we knew very well China.
The idea of sending Mr. Huntsman to China seemed quite attractive Frame Emanuel (Rahm Emanuel), the first head of the administration of President Obama, because he and other political advisers believed Mr. Huntsman, a potential strong opponent to Mr. Obama in the 2012 election. Mr. Huntsman was viewed as quite successful Ambassador, although in 2011 he went against the wishes of the White house, after retiring, returned to the United States and began preparations for his own campaign.
Mr. the huntsman, who is currently Chairman of the Atlantic Council — a think-tank specializing in international Affairs, has openly stated its interest to take the place of Senator Hatch. He stated that his decision will partly depend on the plans of Mr. Hatch. However, he also noted that the Senator is too long it takes place. In November last year in an interview with Bloomberg he said, “Personally, I adhere to the idea of establishing term limits. Has always adhered to”.
The results of a survey conducted in mid-January in Utah by the Salt Lake Tribune and the Hinckley Institute, which attracts students to politics and public Affairs, showed that in the case of an election between the two candidates, Mr. huntsman will win over Mr. Hatch with a score of 63% to 21%. “Not to be taken seriously about Orrin Hatch, noted Mr. Perry. But John huntsman was a very popular Governor.”
