Secretary of State Mike Pompeo graduated first in his class at West Point. His intellect is not in question. Nor is his service to his country in uniform and suit. Pompeo’s interview strategy, however, is a different matter.
Because Pompeo increasingly embraces ridiculousness in response to tough questions.
The problem is quite simple. When Pompeo is asked a question to which the honest answer would be negative for President Trump, he obfuscates. If pushed, Pompeo either accuses the questioner of being disingenuous or of being a Democratic Party stooge. Consider some recent examples.
Last week, Pompeo was asked by Nancy Amons of Nashville’s NBC affiliate whether he knew that State Department diplomats were engaging with Ukrainian officials to tell them that Trump expected their cooperation in looking into the Biden family’s dealings with Ukraine. While it has not be shown that Trump ordered those officials to make a quid pro quo argument for Ukrainian investigations into the Bidens, text messages do show those officials pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden.
Amons’ question was thus wholly legitimate. Indeed, it fit well with Pompeo’s own temperament as CIA director: mastery of risk in pursuit of national interest. But watch the video below and see how Pompeo responded.
“You’ve got your facts wrong. Sounds like you’re working at least in part for the Democratic National Committee.”
It’s a silly line unworthy of Pompeo. Sadly, it’s reflective of how Pompeo now often responds to hard questions that deal with Trump’s more questionable decisions. Alternatively, as he did on Fox News Sunday back in May, Pompeo responds to an unambiguous contradiction from Trump with a variation of, “The president has been very clear on this.”
It’s silly. And it undercuts Pompeo’s otherwise compelling arguments in defense of Trump administration policy. Consider Pompeo’s robust defense of administration policy towards Russia in that same interview. Or his eloquent articulation in a May CBS interview of administration leadership against China.
But where Pompeo does answer questions seriously, these days he too often offers an excessive defense for Trump. Take Pompeo’s defense last week to PBS, of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Pompeo knows Zelensky had no choice but to back up Trump. And while it would be unfair and unrealistic to expect Pompeo to openly rebuke Trump, he could have simply said “I had no problem with the call.”
Pompeo should reassess his strategy here. Pompeo serves at Trump’s pleasure and obviously cannot undercut him. Nor should he. But Pompeo can be more precise and more hesitant in defending Trump’s excesses. One of the most instrumental voices for an administration that is increasingly under fire at home and abroad, Pompeo can consolidate allies and drive forwards his administration’s good work on issues such as China and Iran.
But his increasingly ridiculous interview technique does nothing to help that agenda.
