Mike Pompeo Mocks Predecessor John Kerry About Being Secretary of State: ‘I’m Not in It for the Fancy Dinners’

Secretary of State Pompeo at CPAC 2020 (Screenshot via CPAC Live Feed)

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to the attendees of CPAC Friday afternoon. He reported that he had just come from the Oval Office with President Trump.

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“Can anyone in this room remember a better time to be an American conservative?” he asked the crowd. “We’re safer than ever, our economy is more prosperous than ever, and President Trump will not stop winning.”

The secretary of State then detailed recent victories in the war on terror, including the killings of several high-profile terrorists. “Can we all agree the world is a better place” because these people are gone? he asked, getting a loud roar of cheers in reply.

Then he spoke about the Trump administration’s efforts fighting for religious freedom around the world. “The God that has blessed this country as the standard-bearer for religious freedom is important everywhere,” he said. “If we don’t defend religious freedom, no one else will.”

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In talking about his job, Pompeo expressed how he really enjoys the work that makes an impact, and not the perks of the job. “I’m not in it for the fancy dinners in Paris or Vienna,” he said, before noting, “one of my predecessors went 62 times,” in a not-so-subtle dig at John Kerry.“That, my friends, is a lot of cocktails,” he added.

Then he criticized some of the big mistakes of the previous administration, including the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate accords. The point is about “changing behavior, not signing documents,” he said. “If there’s no compliance, if the agreements are flawed, you gotta get out of them.”

Then he discussed some national security victories—not that the media or the left has ever given Trump credit for them. Pompeo said, “These are the same people who said for years you cannot do exactly what we’ve done.” He cited examples such as Mexico, which is now helping us defend our borders when no one thought it ever would. He also mentioned that no one thought ISIS could be defeated, but now the caliphate is gone. No one thought that Pastor Andrew Brunson would be freed from Turkey either, but the Trump administration got it done. Negotiating a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico was also seen as a pipe dream, but Trump got it done.

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Secretary Pompeo also noted how the media said that killing Iranian General Soleimani would lead to World War III, “but it’s actually made our country safer.”

Before concluding his talk, Pompeo told the audience, “It is my honor to represent each and every one of you every day. Thank you for what you are doing to keep this country exceptional. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.”

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Matt Margolis is the author of Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis

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