Conservatives Turn Against Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo served as President-elect Donald Trump’s CIA director and as his secretary of state, and publicly endorsed his former boss after it was clear he won the 2024 primary elections.

With his past experience, he seems a shoo-in for a high-level position in a second Trump administration — but some on the right are sounding alarms against his being selected for a cabinet-level post.

Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative, called Pompeo “a real authoritarian;” Mills specifically noted Pompeo’s apparent support for the Biden administration’s targeting of Donald Trump over his possession of classified documents. In an interview on Fox in 2023, Pompeo said Trump’s supposed carelessness with classified documents was “inconsistent with protecting” America’s soldiers and seemed to indicate an openness to Trump being prosecuted.

Mills also highlighted Pompeo’s argument for “principled realism,” which seemed to open the door to continued interventions abroad.

Joining the chorus was senior editor of Human Events, Jack Posobiec, who labeled Pompeo a warmonger, and Ron Paul, who called him a neocon. Cartoonist Ben Garrison portrayed the former diplomat as a cheerleader for the military-industrial complex, while Gunther Eagleman, a conservative commentator, also noted his distaste for Pompeo, writing he “wanted Trump behind bars.”

Dave Smith, a popular libertarian podcaster, went off on Joe Rogan’s podcast on the need for Trump to purge his administration of war hawks like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo.

Wikileaks framed the debate as “the battle for the heart of the Trump administration,” placing Elon Musk on one side and Pompeo on the other.

If Pompeo is nominated, he will likely have no difficulty with his Senate confirmation, as he was confirmed as Secretary of State previously. To be clear, there are also many supporters of Pompeo on the right, such as Iran hawk Brian Hook, who will oversee hirings for the State Department.

If the anti-Pompeo sentiments continue, he may not even be nominated in the first place.