Ya know, I’m trying to stick to fun retirement stuff, like drawing, listening to music, and having dental work done. But I used to be, in admittedly a small city, a reporter, and I am appalled by the recent exchange between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NPR reporter/anchor Mary Louise Kelly.
Trump’s “fake news” smokescreen apparently requires his subordinates to also play the same disrespectful take-no-prisoners game with the media. I believe what Kelly has reported about Pompeo’s post-interview treatment of her, and I consider Pompeo’s lies about what happened to be yet another embarrassment for the Trump administration. Yes, Kelly asked some tough questions of Pompeo, but she was completely professional. As Pompeo’s boss buddy likes to say, read the transcript.
Pompeo could have left well enough alone but, no, he had to harass and attempt to intimidate Kelly. Would he have pulled the same bullying tactic on Kelly’s co-anchor Steve Inskeep? Maybe, but I’m betting no. Trump obviously loved hearing about the abuse, and he was quick to publicly praise Pompeo for “doing a good job on her.”
But it’s telling, isn’t it, that Pompeo wasn’t standing at the White House ceremony with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? That’s because credit for the Israel-Palestine agreement went to Jared Kushner. There is of course actually no reason to celebrate, because there is no deal. The agreement is between only the United States and Israel. Gosh, how tough could that have been to negotiate?
Even a layman can see that Pompeo is Secretary of State in title only, as he seems to have absolutely no say at all in America’s foreign policy. Instead, Trump’s son-in-law and Rudy Giuliani are running side-channel diplomatic initiatives. At a social event a couple of months ago I spoke with a woman whose daughter has quit foreign service because of the lack of support for senior career diplomats. Pompeo’s complete failure in speaking up for these people and the work they do has not only destroyed morale within the State Department, it puts the lie to his criticism of Hillary Clinton when she held the same position.
Hasn’t Mike Pompeo had enough? The way he exploded at Kelly shows he may be at his limit of tolerance. If he had any pride left he’d give up being just another one of Trump’s whipping boys, apologize to Kelly, and announce his resignation. One possible explanation for why Pompeo continues to stick around? He’s the “Anonymous” who’s the loyal opposition working on the inside. Hey, maybe the kerfuffle with Kelly was staged as proof of Pompeo’s loyalty! See how easy it is to come up with conspiracy theories?