Secretary of State defends Trump’s ‘go back’ tweets
Pompeo also said he was hopeful the administration would have a decision on Venezuelan migrants
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday defended President Trump’s tweets telling four nonwhite Democratic congresswomen should “go back” to their original countries, saying he believed “the president’s point there I think was pretty clear.”
Pompeo made the comments in a phone interview with the Orlando Sentinel in advance of his speech before the VFW convention in Orlando on Monday.
The secretary also said he was hopeful the administration would have a decision on creating protections for Venezuelan migrants fleeing the Maduro regime – strongly advocated by Florida members of Congress in both parties – in the “not-too-distant future.”
He also added “enormous pressure” is being applied to the Iranian government to halt its nuclear program in the wake of several incidents in the Gulf of Hormuz.
Pompeo was asked if he had heard any concerns from diplomatic delegations and foreign secretaries about Trump’s tweets. The president was censured by the Democratic-controlled House for his “racist comments [which] have legitimized fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color,” according to the House resolution.
“Nobody brought it up,” said Pompeo, who just returned from a trip to Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and El Salvador. “I traveled to multiple countries, no one’s raised this issue. This is a Washington beltway story.”
But, he said, “the president’s point there I think was pretty clear. We want people to serve our nation who are working towards a good outcome for America, who care deeply about our country. That’s what he was asking for.”
Regarding Venezuela, Pompeo said the Trump administration was working with almost 60 countries that also recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido was the legitimate president instead of Nicolas Maduro.
“We know Maduro has to leave,” Pompeo
“The president’s point there I think was pretty clear. We want people to serve our nation who are working towards a good outcome for America, who care deeply about our country. That’s what he was asking for.” Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State
said. “He will. … This will happen. The Cubans [in Venezuela] need to leave as well. Several thousand Cuban intelligence and military officials inside of Venezuela are propping up this horrific regime.”
Florida Congress members including Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and Demo
cratic U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, DKissimmee, have proposed legislation to create “temporary protected status,” for Venezuelans fleeing the country.
Asked about whether the administration – which has moved to end such status for Haitians and people from other Caribbean and Latin American countries – was moving to create such protections, Pompeo said the administration was “looking at the right approach so that we can deliver on behalf of the Venezuelan people. And that’ll be a good outcome for all the people here in Florida [who] care so deeply … who mourn for what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
Asked again about creating a temporary protected status for Venezuelans, Pompeo said, “We’re looking at it.”
“We’re considering, we’re trying to evaluate if that makes sense for the United States, for those people, and to help us achieve our outcome in Venezuela,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we’ll have a decision and a resolution on that in the not too distant future.”
In the wake of incidents including the downing of an Iranian drone by the U.S. military and Iran’s seizure of a British tanker, Pompeo said the administration continues to “apply enormous pressure to the Iranian leadership … to make clear to them, it’s unacceptable for them to continue what’s now been 40 years of terror.”
As keynote speaker at the VFW convention at the Orange County Convention Center, Pompeo said he was the first secretary of state in more than five decades to address the group “and I think it’s about goddamned time,” drawing sustained applause.
Pompeo said his department makes sure “we never let the bad guys win,” cited his work in returning the remains of U.S. service members from North Korea and criticized past administrations for letting “the doctrines of global elites” determine policy.