The latest tweets from @SecPompeo. 2 days ago Pompeo and Dempsey made their respective debuts as Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd in the premiere of Grey’s Anatomy in March 2005. The medical drama, created by Shonda Rhimes, followed a team. 1 day ago Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has aggressively sought to boost his public profile in recent weeks amid speculation of a 2024 presidential run. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn.
© (Twitter) Michael Pompeo's tweets have the look of a political campaign. (Twitter)7 hours ago Pompeo's worst abuses — rooted in extreme politicization of the State Department — were devastating to U.S. Interests around the globe. Pompeo, who is responsible for representing American democracy around the world, has struck a noticeably different tone of his official Twitter account, where he condemned the 'lawlessness.
When Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo launched his unusual Twitter victory lap on New Year's Day, he promised he would be telling a story about American foreign policy that could not be read anywhere else.
Pompeo, part of a dwindling handful of Cabinet secretaries and senior officials determined to stick with President Trump to the bitter end, has posted scores of messages, boasting about what he claims are his great achievements in nearly three years as America’s top diplomat.
The Pompeo tweet-a-thon will surprise no one who has followed his tenure. He condemned journalists, hailed Trump's achievements and posted photographs of himself traveling the world.
The tweets generated an intense amount of rebuttal, even ridicule, from Democrats, foreign policy experts and commentators. Pompeo is said to be considering a bid for president in 2024, and a careful review by The Times of his missives reveals as much about Pompeo's time as secretary of state as it does about the combative politician's ambitions:
Pompeo claimed to have Swagger, but nobody knows what that means:
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1345067615568490496?s=20Putting aside the obvious question of how humility can be part of swagger, Pompeo began using the term when he took over the State Department in 2018.
He promised to restore 'swagger' to the demoralized agency, but after an initial honeymoon, diplomats increasingly chafed at Pompeo's partisan leadership style and willingness to do Trump's bidding. It culminated when he refused to publicly defend the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who testified in Trump's first impeachment hearing.
Numerous career foreign service officers have quit, been forced into retirement or fired. They were often replaced by inexperienced political appointees. And the number of applicants for the service has plummeted, meaning the pool for future diplomats is shrinking.
The nation's top diplomat said he stood up to dictators, but not really:
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1346086762586767364In the Tweet above, Pompeo was probably referring to Cuba's Raul Castro, whom he shunned after an Obama-era rapprochement. However, the list of dictators the administration praised or cozied up to is long. They include Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Sisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Pompeo downplayed atrocious human rights abuses — including the gruesome murder of a journalist allegedly at the hands of the Saudi security service — in the interest of cementing arms deals and other priorities. He also helped open dialogue with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. In the end, though, it was Kim who appears to have benefited most from his meetings with Pompeo and two with Trump. The autocrat received the international standing he craved — and kept the nuclear weapons that the administration hoped to destroy.
Pompeo embodied America First, though experts say the strategy will only hurt the U.S. in the end:
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 2, 2021
The 'America First' strategy often meant America Alone. Traditional allies like Germany and Canada were ignored or insulted. Mexico and several Central American countries were essentially blackmailed, told they would suffer economic sanctions if they didn't cooperate with the administration to stop migration.
The strategy also led to U.S. decisions to withdraw from treaties and other international agreements as well as several United Nations agencies, such as the World Health Organization.
For a victory lap, Pompeo sure did spend a lot of time trashing his predecessors:
We exposed Cuba's slave trade in doctors. The last Administration congratulated Castro for exploiting Cuban doctors. pic.twitter.com/MI0RGLpHAH
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 4, 2021
Even after four years in government, Pompeo continued with harsh attacks of former President Obama and his last secretary of State, John Kerry. Contrasting his actions with theirs seemed to be the way Pompeo measured his success.
That has included his policies in the Middle East, where the administration sided overtly with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians. Pompeo reversed decades of norms by recognizing the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the Golan Heights, captured from Syria, as Israel territory. He declared that Jewish settlements in the West Bank were not illegal, contrary to the position taken by most countries, and became the first secretary of state to visit one. In one of his tweets, he uses the old biblical names of Judea and Samaria to refer to the West Bank, adopting the language of the settlers.
Pompeo is ambitious:
During his tenure, he courted Christian evangelicals — a huge Republican constituency — and delivered political speeches while on the State Department dime. Once a sharp Trump critic, the nation's top diplomat fully embraced his boss's bombast. Pompeo's brash persona, on full display in his final month of tweets, can best be seen as a calculated way to position himself as Trump’s heir in the 2024 GOP primaries.
In one of his final State Department tweets, he even flogged his private handle:
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1349355524463054852This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(April 23, 2021 / JNS) Attempting to send a signal that the GOP does not support the Biden administration’s efforts to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo joined House Republicans on Wednesday to unveil a plan to codify into law the harsh sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
The Maximum Pressure Act, developed by the Republican Study Committee under Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), would require Senate approval for any new deal between the United States and Iran. It would also expand sanctions against Iran’s ballistic-missile program, the Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian-backed terror groups.
It would also restrict the president’s ability to use waivers to lift certain sanctions and provide for expanded congressional review over the lifting of sanctions.
“[U.S.] President [Joe] Biden has already demonstrated a troubling pattern of using tough rhetoric but pursuing the same, failed appeasement policies as his predecessor President [Barack] Obama,” said Banks, according to Foxnews.com. “His foreign policy can best be summarized: ‘Speak loudly and carry a twig.’ ”
by email and never miss
our top stories
From the start of his presidency, Biden has expressed his intention of rejoining the JCPOA, which the United States finalized in 2015. The Trump administration formally left the agreement in May 2018, reimposing sanctions and adding new ones.
“America, our ally, Israel and the world are safer because [former] President [Donald] Trump’s ‘maximum-pressure’ [cam[aign] and crushing sanctions denied the Iranians the resources they needed to support building a nuclear weapon or to support terrorism around the globe,” Pompeo said in a statement.
Pompeo Twitter
The recent effort by Pompeo and the Republicans comes as the United States is participating in indirect negotiations with Iran with the participation of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China to negotiate terms for both nations to re-enter the agreement.
Support
Jewish News Syndicate
Pompeo Twitter Timing
With geographic, political and social divides growing wider, high-quality reporting and informed analysis are more important than ever to keep people connected.
Our ability to cover the most important issues in Israel and throughout the Jewish world—without the standard media bias—depends on the support of committed readers.
If you appreciate the value of our news service and recognize how JNS stands out among the competition, please click on the link and make a one-time or monthly contribution.
Pompeo Twitter Feed
We appreciate your support.