Donald Trump defended Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as a possible choice for his secretary of state, despite the dealmaker’s ties to Russia.

“He’s much more than a business executive,” Trump said Sunday on Fox News. “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 serious competitor.”

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