FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the media at the State Department in Washington, U.S., August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
Mike Pompeo dropped F-bombs and shouted at NPR All Things Considered host Mary Louise Kelly for asking about Ukraine.
NPR provided PoliticusUSA with the segment of the interview that enraged Pompeo:
On whether he owes former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, an apology for her ouster in 2019:
You know, I agreed to come on your show today to talk about Iran. That’s what I intend to do. I know what our Ukraine policy has been now for the three years of this administration. I’m proud of the work we’ve done. This administration delivered the capability for the Ukrainians to defend themselves. President Obama showed up with MREs (meals, ready-to-eat.) We showed up with Javelin missiles. The previous administration did nothing to take down corruption in Ukraine. We’re working hard on that. We’re going to continue to do it.
When pushed on the question of whether he defended or should defend Yovanovitch:
I have defended every State Department official. We’ve built a great team. The team that works here is doing amazing work around the world… I’ve defended every single person on this team. I’ve done what’s right for every single person on this team.
On All Things Considered, Kelly described what happened after the interview ended:
I was taken to the Secretary’s private living room where he was waiting and where he shouted at me for about same amount of time as the interview itself. He was not happy to have been questioned about Ukraine.
He asked, “do you think Americans care about Ukraine?”
He used the F-word in that sentence and many others. He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map. I said yes, and he called out for aides to bring us a map of the world with no writing. I pointed to Ukraine. He put the map away.
He said, “people will hear about this.”
Kelly asked Pompeo about Ukraine because he is going there this week. It wasn’t a gotcha question or a topic that was out of left field. The Secretary of State is traveling there in days. There is speculation, especially in Ukraine, that Pompeo is going there to keep them quiet during the impeachment trial.
Pompeo’s conduct was unprofessional and completely uncalled for. Why is the Secretary of Stats so afraid of questions about Ukraine? The answer is the Pompeo is in up to his eyeballs in the plot, and he is worried that he is going to go down.
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