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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on working with Donald Trump, “I was often delivering to the President hard decisions, complicated work, and there was not a clear path; and I was happy that we had a relationship where he would say Mike that sounds great. Go get it done.”
In an interview with New Hampshire Today’s Chris Ryan, Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State and CIA Director for President Trump, discusses his recently published book, Never Give an Inch; his relationship with President Donald Trump; his presidential aspirations; levels criticism at Nikki Haley, former UN Ambassador and John Bolton, former National Security Advisor; explains his handling of the brutal murder Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi; and defends the work which he did as part of the Trump Administration.
Secretary Pompeo’s book, Never Give an Inch, is a collection of stories in which he retells the conversations and the backstories of the big events in his four years as CIA Director and Secretary of State for Donald Trump.
In the process, Mike Pompeo describes his rapport with the controversial 45th President.
“I was often delivering to the President hard decisions, complicated work, and there was not a clear path; and I was happy that we had a relationship where he would say Mike that sounds great. Go get it done.”
Mike Pompeo denies that the book is part of his own making a run for president in 2024. His goal was to tell the true story of how foreign policy decisions were made which went against the orthodox thinking in Washington.
Nikki Haley and John Bolton, who might be 2024 presidential candidates, are criticized by Mike Pompeo for not being team players and for quitting at a time when there was so much to be done for the American people.
Secretary Pompeo defends his handling of the assassination of Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, by members the Saudi royal family. Pompeo condemned the murder, and the US placed sanctions on the individuals who were responsible for Khashoggi’s murder. Many people wanted stronger measure taken against the Saudi government.
In addition, Pompeo goes after the critics of the Trump Administration, like the Washington Post, for being soft on Iran.
“When it all goes dark, the Iranians will aim their missiles and rockets at America, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be operating in a way that is consistent with America’s national security.”
In the final segment of the interview, Secretary Pompeo says that his goal in writing Don’tGive an Inch was for the American people to look back favorably about the Trump Presidency. “The work that we did was fundamentally decent and noble and had really good outcomes for the American people.”