Gaslighting, lying Trump henchman, Mike Pompeo

On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo got into it with an NPR host over her questions about Ukraine.

On Saturday, he issued a statement responding to the flap that exemplifies gaslighting.

[...]

NPR reported that after an interview on Iran that ended with questions about Ukraine — at which point Pompeo grew testy — the secretary unleashed a lengthy, vulgar tirade against the journalist who interviewed him, “All Things Considered” host Mary Louise Kelly.

Kelly, remarkably, said that Pompeo asked her after the interview, “Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” and asked her to find the country on a blank map, apparently suggesting she didn’t even know. She said she did, and Pompeo concluded the scene by saying, “People will hear about this.”

In Saturday morning’s statement, Pompeo claimed Kelly had told him they were off the record at the time, which NPR denies.

“It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency,” Pompeo said. “This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity.”

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“It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine," Pompeo said in it.

  WaPo

Of course he didn't actually lie that Kelly couldn't identify Ukraine. But he did intentionally give that impression.

Here’s why there is absolutely no way that happened.

First, Bangladesh is more than 3,000 miles away from Ukraine. It is east of India. Ukraine is in Eastern Europe; Bangladesh is in South Asia. Ukraine is in a border war with Russia; Bangladesh does not border Russia and isn’t even close to it. Ukraine is a large country; Bangladesh is comparatively small. It’s difficult to believe basically any journalist who was asked to locate Ukraine would point to Bangladesh, no matter how inexperienced.

Which makes me wonder why in hell he chose Bangladesh. Because it's next to another big country: China? Because that's where HE thought it was?

And second, even if there was one, there is no way it would be Kelly. Kelly isn’t just a host of “All Things Considered,” she is also a former national security reporter who has traveled overseas extensively in her reporting. She also literally has a master’s degree — in European studies — from Cambridge University in England, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

Pompeo could have mentioned a country that is actually near Ukraine, and it still wouldn’t have been believable given Kelly’s background. Mentioning a country in South Asia is patently ridiculous. Indeed, the mere fact that he challenged Kelly on the subject in the first place suggests he doesn’t really know who he was dealing with.

[...]

The State Department’s rebuttal to this will likely be something along the lines of, “We didn’t actually say that she pointed to Bangladesh.” But the calculation in Pompeo’s statement is evident.

The background story is here, including the interview that pissed off Pompeo.

UPDATE:

UPDATE:

“Mary Louise Kelly is one of the most respected, truthful, factual, professional and ethical journalists in the United States, and that’s known by the entire press corps,” [NPR President and CEO John] Lansing said on Saturday. “And I stand behind her and I stand behind the NPR newsroom, and the statement from the secretary of state is blatantly false.”

“But this goes well beyond tension — this goes towards intimidation,” he added. “And let me just say this: we will not be intimidated. Mary Louise Kelly won’t be intimidated, and NPR won’t be intimidated.”

  Raw Story

UPDATE:

At least somebody is having fun.