Pompeo seeks to garner attention for possible election with offer to visit Taiwan island with Pelosi; fan flames of tension

While US government officials remain divided over the still unannounced Taiwan trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said he would visit the island with her.

A week after media reported Pelosi was about to visit Taiwan, Pompeo, deemed by American media as the “worst secretary of state ever,” tweeted on Monday, “Nancy, I’ll go with you. I’m banned in China, but not freedom- loving Taiwan. See you there!”

Lü Xiang, an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that Pompeo is just trying to get some attention politically as he has given indications he will run for the 2024 election.

Pompeo signaled his possible presidential run with the first video advertisement in the key primary state of South Carolina released last month, according to US media.

However, Pompeo has been relegated to a “marginal figure” with limited funding since he left the position of secretary of state, which means that if Pompeo wants to rise again, he has to become a “troublemaker,” using outrageous words and deeds to garner attention, Lü said, “While Pelosi has yet to finalize her trip and US media are trying to assess the possible consequences, Pompeo tweeted the message with the intention of embarrassing Pelosi and fanning the flames of the situation, he said.”

“Pompeo’s remarks could make more Republicans mock Pelosi for not daring to visit the island, and this is just making noise,” he said, noting that Pompeo and Pelosi are opposite on most domestic issues.

Pompeo’s visit to Taiwan can only be done in an unofficial capacity, but it remains to be seen whether such a typical anti- China figure will conspire with the Taiwan authorities to do something unfavorable to the Chinese mainland, such as persuading the Taiwan authorities to buy more American weapons, Lü said.

As for Pelosi’s potential visit, Financial Times reported that China has issued stark private warnings to the Biden administration that suggested a possible military response.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Monday that China is fully prepared for any eventuality, and if the US insists on it, China will take firm and strong measures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.