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Wrote a long profile of Pompeo, went on a Middle East trip with the pool, interviewed him one-on-one 3x and his spouse and colleagues also.
Not sure how much thought he put into those words beforehand, but it is clear to me that they were not intended to be a joke... /1
Not sure how much thought he put into those words beforehand, but it is clear to me that they were not intended to be a joke... /1
Pompeo has a temper. He believes the press is out to get him and will accuse them of playing a "game" where they try to find daylight between his position and Trump's. He tends to get angry and overreact when he believes he's being forced to publicly defend Trump's position... /2
We saw this when he blew up at @marylouisekelly for asking about his failure to defend Amb. Marie Yovanovitch during the Ukraine saga. He gets angry and then gives non-responsive, formal answers that reiterate old talking points. Which may be what happened here. /3
If you watch the whole clip, you'll see him trying to walk it back, in his own way. Which suggests that this wasn't planned. The walk-back doesn't land bc there's really no way to walk "second Trump term" back without acknowledging that Biden won the election. /4
