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Thread – Secretary of State Pompeo Interviewed by FNC’s Bret Baier
1. Yesterday, Mike Pompeo answered questions on a number of key foreign policy topics. Here is some of the Q&A with Bret Baier.
1. Yesterday, Mike Pompeo answered questions on a number of key foreign policy topics. Here is some of the Q&A with Bret Baier.
2. QUESTION: You mentioned Secretary Kerry. Last night he spoke at the DNC. One of the things he talked about was Iran. I’m going to play some things, have you react to them. Quickly, here’s the first one on Iran:
3. SECRETARY KERRY: For the eight years of the Obama-Biden administration, we led by example. We eliminated the threat of an Iran with a nuclear weapon.
4. QUESTION: How about that?
SECRETARY POMPEO: That’s just false. They didn’t lead by example; they led from behind. That was their motto. President Trump leads from the front. He’s prepared to take the courageous stands.
SECRETARY POMPEO: That’s just false. They didn’t lead by example; they led from behind. That was their motto. President Trump leads from the front. He’s prepared to take the courageous stands.
4A. Pompeo (cont’d): They didn’t stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon; indeed, they provided billions and billions of dollars so that Iran could continue their nuclear enrichment program and protect themselves from attack.
4B. Pompeo (cont’d): They put themselves on a pathway to a nuclear weapon. That’s what the deal did. We’re going to prevent that pathway from continuing.
5. QUESTION: John Kerry on Russia:
SECRETARY KERRY: Donald Trump pretends Russia didn’t attack our elections, and now he does nothing about Russia putting a bounty on our troops.
SECRETARY KERRY: Donald Trump pretends Russia didn’t attack our elections, and now he does nothing about Russia putting a bounty on our troops.
6. QUESTION: Response?
SECRETARY POMPEO: So two pieces to that. First, there’s been no president tougher on Russia, whether that’s our defense buildup, whether it’s the work that we’ve done to provide weapons systems to the Ukrainian people to defend themselves.
SECRETARY POMPEO: So two pieces to that. First, there’s been no president tougher on Russia, whether that’s our defense buildup, whether it’s the work that we’ve done to provide weapons systems to the Ukrainian people to defend themselves.
6A. Pompeo (cont’d): Remember, John Kerry and Vice President Biden refused to do that. I’m confident that the Russians would rather have that policy denying the Ukrainians weapons. We’ve been tough on Russia; we’ve sanctioned hundreds of Russians for their malign activity.
6B. I think this administration takes a back seat to no one with respect to standing up for America, protecting our security, and getting it right with respect to Russia, whether that’s Russian efforts in Afghanistan or in Syria or in Ukraine.
7. QUESTION: We heard the President answer this, but in your talks with the Russians, did you bring up the alleged bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan?
8. SECRETARY POMPEO: I did. I’ve spoken with my counterpart, Foreign Minister Lavrov, about that. I’ve made clear to them that threatening American soldiers not only in Afghanistan, but anyplace else, is something that there will be true costs for.
9. QUESTION: All right, here is Colin Powell on trust. Take a listen.
SECRETARY POWELL: He will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots.
SECRETARY POWELL: He will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots.
10. QUESTION: Response?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I have a lot of respect for General Powell. I’ve known him for a long time. This is a President who, when I was the CIA director, always valued the information that I provided him.
SECRETARY POMPEO: I have a lot of respect for General Powell. I’ve known him for a long time. This is a President who, when I was the CIA director, always valued the information that I provided him.
10A. Pompeo (cont’d): And now, as America’s most-senior diplomat, I’ve watched him listen, help me get to the right place in terms of how he was thinking about to deliver on his foreign policy. I’ve watched him value these people in important ways.
10B. Pompeo (cont’d): So I’m not sure what it was General Powell was speaking to there.
11. QUESTION: Last thing. One thing that has not come up a lot so far, and I guess last night was foreign policy – we’ll hear maybe it may come up again – but China has not come up. Is that, do you believe, an opening for Republicans next week on that issue and what you’re doing?
12. SECRETARY POMPEO: I’ve been terribly surprised that the Democrats haven’t talked about foreign policy enough with no mentions of China, the single-greatest challenge to the United States over the next years.
12A. Pompeo (cont’d): The single greatest threat to the United States comes from the Chinese Communist Party. Donald Trump called it early; he talked about it during his campaign in 2015 and again in 2016.
12B. Pompeo (cont’d): And now for three and a half years we have imposed cost on China in a way that has protected the American people from this threat.
12C. Pompeo (cont’d): And when they refused to acknowledge the Wuhan virus, when they said we’re going to cover this up, we’re going to allow people to travel across the world in spite of the fact that we know it presents a threat.
12D. Pompeo (cont’d): President Trump is aiming to hold them accountable for the enormous loss of life all across the world and the trillions of dollars in economic harm that the Chinese Communist Party allowed to permeate all throughout the world.
<end of interview>
<end of interview>
13. Sec’y Pompeo called out the Obama Administration bigly during that interview! Obama spent eight years setting up his JCPOA to the point that it almost seemed like the only foreign policy goal he ever truly had.
14. As for Russia, his off-mike promise to Russian President Medvedev in 2012 to the effect that he’d have much more flexibility after his reelection tells us all about his softness in dealing with Russia! https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-summit-obama-medvedev/obama-tells-russias-medvedev-more-flexibility-after-election-idUSBRE82P0JI20120326
15. And then there was Obama’s kowtowing to Beijing, especially after Xi Jinping was elevated to Party Secretary in 2012. He continued the globalists’ efforts to give away the store to the Chinese while looking the other way as they stole everything they could.
16. Finally, I loved Pompeo’s reminder of Obama’s policy of “leading from behind.” How’d that work out again in contrast to President Trump’s forthright defense of American interests around the world?
17. You can read the entire transcript here. ///The end. https://www.state.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-with-bret-baier-of-special-report-with-bret-baier-2/
