Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated in a new interview that he knows there won't be a 'second Trump administration' a...
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated in a new interview that he knows there won't be a 'second Trump administration' after all, as he talked about where he planned to live after leaving office and about President Donald Trump's foreign policy legacy.
Pompeo spoke with billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein in an interview for Bloomberg News, where he boasted, 'After four years, I think we're leaving the world safer than when we came in.'
'I'm not sure precisely where we'll live,' Pompeo said when Rubenstein asked if he would return to Kansas or stay in Washington, D.C. 'Home is Kansas. I am confident that we will spend a whole lot more time in Kansas in the time after I'm Secretary of State than I have while I was Secretary of State.'
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated in a new interview that he knows there won't be a 'second Trump administration' as he talked about where he planned to live after leaving office and about President Donald Trump's foreign policy legacy
President Donald Trump, photographed at a rally in Georgia Monday night, has refused to concede the election to President-elect Joe Biden. Pompeo, however, said that 'after four years, I think we're leaving the world safer than when we came in'
Pompeo was interviewed by billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein (pictured) for Bloomberg News
Pompeo was one of the highest-ranking government officials to question, early on, the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden's win.
Three days after the networks called the race for Biden on November 7, Pompeo was asked if he would cooperate with the transition.
'There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration,' he answered on November 10.
And while a significant number of Republicans have come around since, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who congratulated Biden once the Electoral College certified the count, Trump continues to refuse to concede.
Pompeo, however, suggested he was heading to the exit.
'We love it,' he said of Kansas. 'It's where our friends and family and our church is. I don't know. I don't know precisely where we'll live. I am confident, however, that my wife will have a big say in that.'
Rubenstein never directly asked Pompeo a question about President-elect Joe Biden nor his Secretary of State pick Tony Blinken.
He did ask him to reveal his 'most important lesson' to his successor.
Pompeo answered that a Secretary of State needed a good team around him to be successful.
'The second, the relationship between a president and secretary of state is absolutely central to your success,' he added. 'When you travel around the world and meet with leaders or when you speak to them on the phone, they need to know that you have a relationship with the president that means that you are in fact speaking on behalf of him, that you have a clear understanding of the commander’s intent.'
Pompeo also talked about how he had supported Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 GOP primary but helped Trump from the Republican National Convention on, because he realized the president was 'better for the United States of America' than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
His original position in the administration was CIA director and the face time with the president he received when giving intelligence briefings helped him get the top job at Foggy Bottom.
Pompeo also continued to break from the president when discussing the recent cyberattack on the United States.
Trump has tried to blame China, while experts say it's the work of the Russians.
'Well, the United States Government is constantly under threat from cyber attacks. The particular incident that I think you’re referring to was in fact a Russian operation,' Pompeo said.
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