They once said something bad about him

Taking on the Trump machine

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday took a swipe at former President Trump ahead of a speech to conservatives in Nevada, saying many in the Republican Party are “tired of losing.”

  The Hill

There'll be some serious "truthing" on the Trump media social coming out of Mar-A-Lago (and Don Jr).

“We were told we’d get tired of winning. But I’m tired of losing. And so are most Republicans,” Pompeo tweeted, promoting his appearance later in the day at the Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas.

Add some serious MAGA shitposting about the Jews.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took a similar shot at Trump earlier in the week.

“How about this? When Donald Trump won in 2016, he said we were going to get so tired of winning we would ask him to stop winning so much,” Christie told a gathering of Republican governors, noting the party lost House seats in 2018, the White House in 2020 and winnable Senate races in 2022.

“I’m tired of losing,” Christie added.

I missed that. Apparently that's the new Trump challenger line.

Let the games begin!

Appears Mike Pompeo will be running for president

This from a guy who spent years carrying water for the selfsame "victim".

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:  Oooh, getting a little nastier.

Now that gerrymandering wasn't a total win for the GOP...*

Now there's a dynamic duo for you.

* story

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Grifters one and all

The Saudi royal family showered Donald J. Trump and his entourage on his first trip abroad as president with dozens of presents, including three robes made with white tiger and cheetah fur, and a dagger with a handle that appeared to be ivory.

[...]

A White House lawyer determined that possession of the furs and dagger most likely violated the Endangered Species Act, but the Trump administration held onto them and failed to disclose them as gifts received from a foreign government. On the last full day of Mr. Trump’s presidency, the White House handed them over to the General Services Administration — the wrong agency — rather than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which seized the gifts this summer.

At that point, there was a surprise.

The furs, from an oil-rich family worth billions of dollars, were fake.

[...]

The State Department’s inspector general is investigating allegations that Mr. Trump’s political appointees walked off with gift bags worth thousands of dollars that were meant for foreign leaders at the Group of 7 summit planned for Camp David in 2020, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The bags contained dozens of items purchased with government funds, including leather portfolios, pewter trays and marble trinket boxes emblazoned with the presidential seal or the signatures of Mr. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump.

The inspector general continues to pursue the whereabouts of a $5,800 bottle of Japanese whiskey given to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — Mr. Pompeo said he never received it — and a 22-karat gold coin given to another State Department official.

[...]

There is also a question about whether the former second lady, Karen Pence, wrongly took two gold-toned place card holders from the prime minister of Singapore without paying for them.

  NYT

True American.

“Whether this was indifference, sloppiness or the Great Train Robbery, it shows such a cavalier attitude to the law and the regular process of government,” said Stanley M. Brand, a criminal defense lawyer, ethics expert and former top lawyer for the House of Representatives.

Welcome to the New America.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

And I bet he runs for president in 2024

Sure, we think he means gender, but who knows?  He may actually mean sexuality.  She probably did.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

It's Sunday

Former U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has suspended a recent tour of speaking engagements and is preparing for a church missionary assignment overseas sources close the former Trump administration cabinet member have confirmed.

Pompeo (57), a self-proclaimed evangelical Christian originally from Santa Anna California, who served as a conservative congressman from Wichita Kansas, was appointed by President Donald Trump as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in January of 2017, and later replaced dismissed oil tycoon Rex Tillerson as head of the US Department of State in April of 2018.

"Christ has called me, and I will follow" one source familiar with the matter said about the motivation for this new missionary initiative Pompeo is said to be planning to formally announce later this month along with several evangelical leaders and former Trump officials whom he has been meeting with over the last several weeks.

  Daily Kos

Bingo.

And not just Christ...

His past Islamophobic statements and support of returning the Israeli capitol to Jerusalem have made him an unwelcome figure across the Islamic world and the Middle East and his anti-immigrant policies and programs are unpopular across Mexico, Central and South America.

His last tour comprised of a round of visits with European leaders in January of 2021 was canceled when leaders refused to meet with Pompeo following the events of the January 6 DC riot that turned into an attempted insurrection. which country, or countries, Pompeo's mission is to take place is still a mystery due to the contentious relationships he has had with world leaders as Trump's top foreign diplomat. His past Islamophobic statements and support of returning the Israeli capitol to Jerusalem have made him an unwelcome figure across the Islamic world and the Middle East and his anti-immigrant policies and programs are unpopular across Mexico, Central and South America.

His last tour comprised of a round of visits with European leaders in January of 2021 was canceled when leaders refused to meet with Pompeo following the events of the January 6 DC riot that turned into an attempted insurrection.

[...]

Although Pompeo largely ignored the plight of most countries in Africa during the global coronavirus pandemic, it seems that it is the one continent in which he might be allowed to do missionary work. Or as one State department observer noted "there's always Canada, or Russia, he's still got friends there."

[...]

It was revealed in May of 2020 that he had been using taxpayer dollars to pay for lavish, head-of-state-style, catered "Madison Dinners" at his Arlington Virginia home arranged using his second wife's personal email account.

The posh nosh events he hosted were attended by potential big money GOP donors and political supporters many suspect he has been lining up for a run for the presidency since mid-2019. Some early backers of Pompeo say he is the "heir apparent" for replacing Trump at the top of the Republican 2024 ticket, but whether or not he can get the former president’s nod or endorsement remains in question.

I think we can answer it. Hint: his last name isn't Trump.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Irony is still dead

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Ouch

It's not yet okay to question the emperor's lack of clothes

Voice of America White House reporter Patsy Widakuswara was reassigned Monday evening just hours after pressing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on whether he regretted saying there would be a second Trump administration after President-elect Joe Biden's victory was apparent.

[...]

As Pompeo walked out of the VOA building, giving a thumbs up to a man with whom he exchanged remarks in the crowded foyer, Widakuswara lobbed several questions. She asked what he was doing to repair the reputation of the U.S. around the world. She finally asked: "Mr. Secretary, do you regret saying there will be a second Trump administration?" Pompeo did not acknowledge the questions.



She tweeted out videotaped footage of that exchange, which showed a throng of people around. Contemporaneous audio obtained by NPR shows she then turned to press VOA director Robert R. Reilly: "Mr. Director, why did you not ask any of the questions that we wanted to know about?"

He asked who she was, and Widakuswara identified herself as a Voice of America White House reporter. An irate Reilly can be heard saying, "You obviously don't know how to behave," adding, she wasn't "authorized" to be there to ask questions.

[...]

In his speech, Pompeo waded into the clash between the Voice of America and the CEO of its federal parent, the U.S. Agency for Global Media, over how much journalistic independence it has. President Trump's pick as CEO, Michael Pack, has said he is intent on "draining the swamp" of VOA from journalists who, he claims, are biased against the president and emphasizing America's faults to the world through their reports. Pack was present in the foyer for the exchange between the reporter and the Cabinet secretary.

[...]

The White House had issued a blistering statement last spring, accusing Voice of America under previous leadership of posting Chinese propaganda on COVID-19 over what turned out to be material from the Associated Press. VOA's then-senior leaders noted numerous stories debunking Chinese claims and offering textured coverage over the coronavirus in that country.

  NPR

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Trump concedes

Not that he says the word.

He just threw his people under the bus.  What a surprise.

Somebody explained to him the legal and political shithole he just dug for himself.   He may have feared he was on his way to a 25th Amendment ousting.*  He should still face impeachment.

Of course, Trump is lying again.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

*  DeVos resigned.  

Also...

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were among the Cabinet secretaries who discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump, three sources told CNBC.

They determined the process of elevating Mike Pence to the presidency could take more than a week, diluting its effects.

[...]

Second, it was unclear whether the three secretaries serving in “acting” roles without Senate confirmation would be able to cast a vote. Third, they had concerns that forcing Trump from office could further stoke tensions among his base and make him a hero of the far right, doing more bad in the long-term than good in the short-term.

  CNBC

UPDATE:

His final days will be throwing people under the bus

In 45 tweets this week (so far) the president has not said a single word about the record deaths from COVID. Or economic stimulus. Or the Russian hack. Not. One. Word. Instead, it is an endless litany of complaints, self-aggrandizement, and conspiracy theorizing.

  Bulwark

Well, he has now.

I don't know why he tagged Ratcliffe, but I know why he tagged Pompeo.  Perhaps Ratcliffe was involved in the decision to close the consulates.

Yhoo News article

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

P.S.  Note that the Twitter warning label does not say on this tweet as previous ones that the tweet claims are disputed".  It flat out says Joe Biden is the certified winner.

He's still got almost 2 months

We're not out of the woods yet.

Coincidence, I'm sure.

FFS

The transition period is too long.  It should be 3 weeks.  When you're fired, you don't get to stay 3 months.  Leave a skeleton crew to facilitate.

The United States will label the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which seeks to isolate Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, as “anti-Semitic”, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, calling the movement “a cancer”.

Washington “will regard the global anti-Israel BDS campaign as anti-Semitic … We want to stand with all other nations that recognise the BDS movement for the cancer that it is,” Pompeo said in a joint appearance with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday.

  alJazeera

Bullshit.

I'm afraid this is one act that won't be rescinded with Biden.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Lame duck activity

His aides and other Republicans want him to focus on securing some of his nasty policies.  But here's what he's focused on.

Trump’s plans for the next several weeks include firing Cabinet officials who have irked him or refused to follow his lead on investigations. He kicked off the axings Monday by tweet-firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper. In the coming weeks, Trump may also fire CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Haspel was spotted in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on Tuesday afternoon.

  Politico

Because revenge is more important than anything.

Pompeo, on the other hand, is furiously busy.

Whether or not Pompeo believes he has more time in office, he’s governing like he’s in a hurry. On Tuesday came yet another round of sanctions on Iran-tied “procurement networks.” He approved a massive $23 billion arms sale to the UAE— the apparent cost of Abu Dhabi’s recognition of Israel— that includes the advanced F-35 jet fighter and 18 weapons-capable Reaper drones. To little fanfare, Pompeo gave the department’s counterterrorism chief, Nathan Sales, the task of coordinating the global coalition against the so-called Islamic State, and made Joel Rayburn the special envoy for Syria, after announcing Amb. Jim Jeffrey’s retirement from both roles on Monday.

All that has sparked speculation and fear that a last-minute confrontation with Iran may be in the offing—particularly considering the ongoing fallout from a stunning week at the Pentagon that the department has yet to explain.

There is uncertainty over what exactly Patel, Cohen-Watnick, and the new policy chief, Anthony Tata, have been directed to do at the Pentagon. Theories run the gamut from retribution against officials perceived to be disloyal to Trump, to blocking the flow of intelligence to an inevitable Biden transition, to selectively leaking the GOP information perceived to be damaging to Biden or Obama.

  Daily Beast

.....but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Jesus, these people

Vampires have no mirrors

Despicable and insane

Wow.  That's gonna hurt Hillary's chances of winning.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Denied

The pope declined to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on his visit to the Vatican this week, claiming that a meeting before Election Day would be inappropriate.

  The Hill

Good excuse, Frankie.

Pompeo dismissed any assertion that his visit was for electoral pursuits, saying, "That's just crazy."

Are you calling the Pope crazy, Mike?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Hmmm...

So, is he saying we're not normal?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.