Mike Pompeo sparked fury from supporters of former President Donald Trump’s Make America Great (MAGA) movement on Sunday, after he said he is open to joining a new Trump administration if asked.
Pompeo, who served during the Trump administration as secretary of state and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has sometimes been at odds with his former boss since they left office in January 2021. Meanwhile, Trump has all but officially clenched the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination after his only remaining opponent, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race after losing nearly all the state primary contests on Super Tuesday.
In a Friday interview with Fox News, Pompeo said that if Trump is reelected, he would be willing to join his administration again.
“I don’t often comment on jobs I’ve not been offered. But if I get a chance to serve and think that I can make a difference … I’m almost certainly going to say yes to that opportunity to try and deliver on behalf of the American people,” Pompeo said.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Some MAGA supporters have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to raise concerns about the former secretary of state’s loyalty and performance during Trump’s presidency. Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s spokesperson via email and Pompeo via his Champion American Values PAC’s email for comment.
Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn took aim at Pompeo:
“So you can undermine him again? You did zip as Director of the CIA to expose the BS russiagate and you had every chance and ability to do it and you did even less fixing anything at the state department. And have you stated even once anything about the rigged election of 2020? We’re waiting. We need to keep the RINOs out of the next Trump administration,” Flynn wrote on X.
So you can undermine him again? You did zip as Director of the CIA to expose the BS russiagate and you had every chance and ability to do it and you did even less fixing anything at the state department. And have you stated even once anything about the rigged election of 2020?… https://t.co/fnIfnwIGLy
— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) March 10, 2024
Arizona state Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican, disapproved of Pomepo’s comments writing, “To think back in the day, I used to respect Mike Pompeo. Nope, never will I be duped by him again.”
“Pompeo promoting SELF not TRUMP. Mike Pompeo wants cabinet position under Trump? I agree with @GenFlynn; Pompeo FAILED to FIRE President Trump’s enemies when he could,” X user Truth Now wrote.
Wendy Patterson, another X user who identifies with MAGA on her profile, took aim at Pomepo’s job performance during Trump’s presidency:
“Mike Pompeo was CIA Director for almost 2 years under Trump’s administration all while the CIA implemented the “Russian hoax” against President Trump. Pompeo didn’t fire anyone. Now, Pompeo was seen on TV saying that he would serve under a second Trump administration if asked. He would even consider the Vice Presidency. Mike Pompeo is a RAT waiting in the wings to disrupt Trumps second term,” she wrote.
During the Fox News interview Pompeo addressed loyalty concerns, saying that it is reasonable for a president to seek commitment to their vision.
“I’m confident President Trump will be looking for people who will faithfully execute what it is he asked them to do. I think as a president, you should always want that from everyone,” he said.
The criticism comes after Pompeo dismissed Trump’s previous claim of being able to easily end the war in Ukraine during an interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum last year.
He was asked whether the war could be “solved within one day” after being shown a clip of Trump telling Fox personality Sean Hannity about a “very easy” but secret negotiation technique that he would use to abruptly end the conflict.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Pompeo responded.
Pompeo went on to say that the Trump administration had been “able to deter” Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine, although he failed to mention Trump by name and said that the feat had been accomplished “while I was secretary of state.”
The former Secretary of State was also at odds with Trump during the 2022 midterm election. In the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary, Trump endorsed celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and Pompeo backed David McCormick, a former hedge fund chief executive officer. Oz narrowly won the primary, but went on to lose in the midterm to Democratic Senator John Fetterman.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.