The New York Times probably wishes it could go back in time 24 hours and rethink this story: “At a Key Moment, Trump’s Top Diplomat Is Again Thousands of Miles Away.”
As the title suggests, the article, written by Gardiner Harris, takes a passive-aggressive jab at the Trump administration, assailing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for being “AWOL” while the president was pulling out of the Iran deal. Pompeo, of course, was at the time on his way to North Korea to secure the release of three Americans who had been held captive there.
“I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health,” President Trump tweeted this morning. “Secretary Pompeo and his ‘guests’ will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!”
I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
According to the Times article: “Senior State Department officials were momentarily speechless on Tuesday when asked why Mr. Pompeo did not delay his trip by a day to be in Washington during Mr. Trump’s Iran deal announcement.”
Of course they were “speechless.” They didn’t want to leak the details of Pompeo’s unannounced trip to the unscrupulous NYT.
The story went on to note the “perplexed” reactions of our European allies: “The absence of Mr. Pompeo and other top State Department officials left perplexed European diplomats privately complaining that they were having trouble getting answers from Washington,” Harris wrote.
European diplomats, who are are always “privately complaining” about Republican administrations, probably continued to privately complain even after Pompeo’s whereabouts were made known. Nobody cares.
Via Fox News:
The Times story also mocked Pompeo’s plane, reporting that it “has such poor equipment that calls are often dropped midsentence.”
It turned out that Pompeo’s absence was more than justified, and any aging technology on his plane didn’t prevent him from leaving Pyongyang with three Americans that have been held captive oversees. The detaniees — Tony Kim, Kim Hak Song and Kim Dong Chul — are presumably thankful that Pompeo didn’t push back his trip to satisfy European diplomats
Fox News reached out to the Times for comments but did not get a response.
“The press has a responsibility to put out accurate information,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in response to a question about President Trump’s threat to strip certain members of the media of White House press credentials.
“Just yesterday, the New York Times accused the secretary of State for being AWOL,” Huckabee continued. “AWOL! When he was flying across the globe to bring three Americans home. That is an outrageous claim,” she added.
https://youtu.be/51QFnTOn9Uw
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