In the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, one of the top deputies remained firmly loyal, even when others distanced or resigned in protest.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has doubled his defense of Trump, criticizing those who have broken out of their ranks and insinuating themselves with the president’s followers – who will be vital to their own presidential ambitions.
“I think history will remember us very well,” Pompeo told a group of House Republicans a few days after Trump incited a crowd that invaded the Capitol on January 6.
“Although I think we all think that the violence that happened in the place where you all work on Capitol was tragic, I’ve seen people walk away from this president. And they are not listening to the American people. Not even remotely – said Pompeo.
A future linked to Trump
Pompeo’s close alignment with Trump defined his administration as America’s top diplomat. Both his supporters and his critics believe that Pompeo worked to put himself in the line of political succession, regardless of whether Trump remained king or became king.
As secretary of state, Pompeo embraced Trump’s skepticism towards European allies and international organizations, employing a brash tone that echoed the president. He ignored an unwritten rule that state secretaries should avoid uncontrolled party fights, never hesitating to attack the previous government or Democrats in Congress.
He recently called President Obama’s support for an arms control treaty “stupid”, which was supported by the Republican and Democratic governments.
He achieved what few have achieved within the government – a direct line to the president over four years. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, along with other cabinet members and senior officials, ended up clashing with the president, unleashing Trump’s ire, often via tweet. But Pompeo survived without a large public speaking out.
As a result, foreign governments believed that Pompeo had the president’s ears.
“When you travel the world and meet leaders or when you talk to them on the phone, they need to know that you have a relationship with the president, which means that you are actually speaking on his behalf,” said Pompeo in an interview recent with Bloomberg.
Pompeo’s admirers, and even some of his critics within the diplomatic corps, say he has led the president in a more constructive direction.
Michael Steele, a former president of the Republican party who is an outspoken critic of Trump, said that without Pompeo at work, Trump could have done more harm to US interests in the world.
“If you look at the results versus what the results could have been, I’m happy that Mike Pompeo was there. I think people ignore that, ”said Steele, an MSNBC employee.
Losing the base
Career diplomats were initially relieved by Pompeo’s arrival, when he dismissed Tillerson’s unpopular initiatives to reform the department and elevated several experienced foreign service officers to high-level positions.
But then came the impeachment investigation in Ukraine, with Trump and his supporters chastising diplomats who refused to encourage an effort to dig up Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
Pompeo chose not to go against Trump, and the State Department team was shocked to see Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch, an experienced diplomat, suddenly removed as ambassador to Ukraine.
“This was deeply disturbing for State Department personnel because Masha is respected and loved,” said a former US diplomat.
In a blow to Pompeo, Michael McKinley, a career diplomat who served as Pompeo’s senior adviser, resigned angrily for the treatment of Yovanovitch and other colleagues. After the Ukraine episode, Pompeo lost the confidence of many at the base.
Laying the foundations for 2024
As Trump’s term ends, most important figures are keeping a low profile, but Pompeo is not. He issued a flurry of political decisions and tweets, portraying himself as a secretary of state who made history and a loyal servant of the president.
This month, Pompeo overturned decades of bipartisan politics and lifted restrictions on government contacts with Taiwan, ignored appeals from humanitarian aid organizations and labeled Houthi forces in Yemen as terrorists, designated Cuba as a terror sponsor state and declared without offering evidence that Iran had become a “home base” for al Qaeda.
The quick pronouncements will create some headaches for the next Biden government, as the actions clearly go against the Biden team’s plans. Hawkish policymaking, however, is likely to go well with Republican voters, including pro-Trump Cuban-Americans.
Pompeo’s recent moves “are not only designed to make things diplomatically difficult for Biden, but also so that he could go to his main constituents and claim ‘I defended you, unlike that other guy,” “said Laura Kennedy, an ambassador. retired woman who served as a foreign service officer for 40 years.
Sanctions as a weapon of choice
Pompeo argues that America under Trump’s command has retreated against dishonest opponents and regimes, faced China on trade and other issues and withdrew from international organizations or multilateral agreements that no longer served the country’s interests. Critics say the Trump administration has alienated allies, weakened America’s soft power and approached dictators.
Sanctions have become the preferred diplomatic weapon for Pompeo and the Trump administration. But the Venezuela sanctions have failed to overthrow the Maduro regime in Caracas. International sanctions helped to push North Korea to the negotiating table, but the negotiations failed quickly. Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile arsenal has continued to grow since Trump took office.
In Iran, a major outbreak of Pompeo, a wave of sanctions has inflicted serious economic damage, but the regime remains in power, continues to hold prosecutors across the Middle East and is now closer to securing a nuclear weapon.
“Under the leadership of Secretary Pompeo, the United States has achieved historic achievements,” said the State Department, citing a list of policies that includes recognition of Israel by various Arab governments.
Pompeo and the Trump administration achieved a genuine diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East when the United Arab Emirates and several other Arab countries normalized relations with Israel for the first time. Although the initiatives were led by Jared Kushner, the State Department says that Iran’s “maximum pressure” campaign helped pave the way for Arab nations to make the leap.
Blurring the line
Throughout his time as secretary of state, Pompeo’s domestic travels, the launching of party bombs and his meetings with Republican donors and evangelical audiences raised questions about whether he was using his position to boost his political career.
Pompeo also offered sumptuous dinners in the State Department’s opulent Madison Room, as reported by NBC News, to which Republican donors were invited, as well as Republican lawmakers and Supreme Court judges.
The realization that he was blurring the line between the government’s legitimate business and political activity led to investigations by Congress, the Special Council Office and the State Department’s Inspector General.
Pompeo recommended that Trump fire State Department inspector general Steve Linick, who had opened several investigations into the secretary. The decision prompted Democratic lawmakers to launch their own inquiry into the removal of Linick, and the chairman of the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Deputy Gregory Meeks (D-NY), said the investigation would continue. Pompeo says the change was not retaliatory.
In his dealings with the press, Pompeo seemed to imitate Trump, attacking the media as a left-wing conspiracy intended to taint the president. He called reporters’ questions at press conferences “insane”, “ridiculous” and “downright ridiculous”, and preferred to give interviews to vehicles known for their right-wing opinions.
Pompeo’s bitter relationship with the media can play well with Republican voters if he decides to run for the Republican nomination in four years. At the moment, he declined to talk about what he plans to do after his time at the Foggy Bottom ends, but he is encouraging his Twitter followers to stay tuned.
“Serving as his secretary of state has been the honor of a lifetime,” he wrote on January 15. “You can continue to follow me @mikepompeo.”