With Mike Pompeo facing a difficult confirmation vote next week, Fox News is doing its part by talking up Trump’s secretary of state nominee and attacking Democrats who won’t go along.
Today, Republican Senator Rob Portman joined Dana Perino on The Daily Briefing for a Pompeo pep talk. Washington Examiner editorial director Hugo Gordon told Happening Now’s Melissa Francis that Pompeo has a “stellar resumé.” Francis, in turn, noted how Pompeo looks “very successful, very statesmanlike” in the wake of his North Korea trip. Republican Senator John Thune said on Outnumbered Overtime, “We need to get him approved and as soon as possible.” Host Harris Faulkner agreed, calling it “critically important.”
But Rep. Martha McSally (R-AZ), also a U.S. Senate candidate, sounded downright ecstatic at the thought of Pompeo as secretary of state. She called Pompeo “brilliant,” adding, “You look at his record, and with the world burning right now, and everything we’re dealing with, he had a strong, bipartisan vote for CIA Director. The Democrats need to stop holding this up. We need a secretary of state more than ever. He’s already acting like a strong diplomat. Look at how he spent his Easter.”
McSally went on to demand that people “support the president’s selections for his cabinets.” She continued, “Look at his background, look at his experience, he’s an extraordinary patriot and we need him right now."
Although Pompeo made a big effort to come across as a tolerant, diplomacy supporter in his confirmation hearings, that persona is directly at odds with the extremist war hawk of his actual behavior, as Vox noted. Which Pompeo would be the real secretary of state? There’s no way to know.
What we can be pretty darned certain of is that Fox News will cheerlead Pompeo so long as he continues to support Trump.
Watch McSally gush over Pompeo below, from the April 18, 2018 Your World.
‘When you are deep in a hole, stop digging’ would be a much wiser course to follow.