In an annual report that typically focuses on abuses in less-developed countries, Human Rights Watch on Thursday issued a sharply worded warning that the rise of populist politicians in the United States and Europe threatened modern rights movements and potentially even Western democracy. The report said Trump's success reflected a dangerous and growing "infatuation with strongman rule" also evident in Russia, China, Venezuela and the Philippines. Roth was sharply critical of Trump's pick as secretary of state, former ExxonMobil head Rex Tillerson, saying that "this is a guy who made his career by cutting deals with dictators," and who, in a Senate hearing Wednesday, looked "for excuse after excuse" not to take a stand against documented rights abuses.
