Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a dictator over his invasion of Ukraine, though he continues to consider China a greater threat to America.
“We’ve seen a Russian dictator now terrorize the Ukrainian people because America didn’t demonstrate the resolve that we did for the four years prior,” Pompeo said, criticizing President Joe Biden.
Pompeo, who entered politics via the Wichita area’s congressional seat, told a gathering of conservatives in Florida that a lot had changed from what, “President (Donald) Trump and I had done here and abroad for America to protect each and every one of you in the last 14 months.”
The former top American diplomat offered no kind words for Russia’s autocrat after facing criticism in recent days for praise heaped on Putin. Earlier in the month, days before the invasion started, Pompeo called Putin “very savvy,” “very shrewd” and “an elegantly sophisticated counterpart and one who is not reckless but has always done the math.”
Friday’s speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference came on the second day of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Mike Pompeo recalls Cold War with Soviets
Pompeo graduated first in his class at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1986. The Army sent him to Europe, where he was an officer a tank platoon patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“We see on our TV the bombs, the missiles, the Soviet tanks, the Russian tanks moving across Ukraine,” Pompeo said. “My first assignment when I was a young lieutenant, was I was in a border unit patrolling what was then the East German border. It was the last time we had Americans in Europe standing face to face with the Russians.
“How did we prevail? It was peace through strength. That was (Ronald) Reagan’s model. It was the model that we used for four years in the Trump administration. We put America first and we told people around the world: you cannot tread on us.”
More: Why is Russia invading Ukraine? Could it be the start of WWIII? Here’s what we know
China is ‘greatest threat’
Despite the outbreak of war in Europe near NATO alliance member nations, Pompeo doesn’t consider Russia to be the greatest foreign threat to America.
“I could see that the greatest threat from abroad was the Chinese Communist Party,” Pompeo said. “We worked on it abroad. We tried to make sure that the jobs that they stole in the United States would no longer be stolen, and that the hard work that Americans did here would be rewarded with a set of trade deals that actually made sense.”
Pompeo closed the Chinese consulate in Houston, alleging it housed a spy ring that was stealing medical science and energy company secrets.
“You should know you should know that that did not make me any friends at the United States Department of State,” he said. “You should also know that I didn’t really give a rip.”
China continues to exert influence in the U.S., Pompeo said.
“They’re inside our colleges and universities,” he said. “They’re working on local governments, mayors, governors. You should demand that your mayor, your county commissioner, your school board member, your governor doesn’t kowtow, does not bend a knee to the Chinese Communist Party.
“You should make sure that your state pension system isn’t underwriting the very weapons that the Chinese Communist Party may one day use to attack our great nation.”
Is Mike Pompeo running for president?
Pompeo continues to maintain a sizeable war chest in a candidate campaign account, fueling speculation that he may run for president in 2024. Federal Election Commission filings show he started last calendar year with more than $1 million in the bank.
The campaign spent about $160,000 last year, mostly on a transfer to his new political action committee. Expenditure reports show he also rents a storage unit in Wichita.
Pompeo didn’t directly address whether he plans to run for public office.
“I got asked this morning do you miss the pressure? Aren’t you glad you’re out of the fire? I miss every single minute of it,” he said. “I wish that we were back there leading America.”
His speech was packed with conservative talking points. Immigration, mask mandates, transgender swimmers, crime, abortion, supporting Israel, Christianity and race relation teachings in public schools.
His CPAC appearance came one day after an event in Iowa — home to the first presidential caucus.
Pompeo has also been floated as a GOP candidate for Kansas governor as a way to improve his standing ahead of a presidential race.
More: Mike Pompeo in Iowa on Russia’s Vladimir Putin: ‘You shouldn’t pretend your enemy is weak’
How did Mike Pompeo lose weight?
Pompeo has noticeably lost weight since leaving federal office. He joked about his weight compared to when he was a cadet and said Friday the subject was a frequent topic in conversations with CPAC attendees.
“I was out talking to you some this morning, the most common question was, ‘Mike, how’d you lose all that weight?’ It’s hard work — and pray that I can keep it off, would you all?” Pompeo said. “I would appreciate that.”
CAVPAC and local elections
Pompeo in August indicated that he is not concerned about his own political future. He was in Wichita for a Republican Party fundraiser and keynote address at a meeting of state oil and gas producers.
An attendee shouted to Pompeo that he should run for president. Pompeo responded with a smile. Soon after, he told reporters that he is focused on his Champion American Values PAC.
“CAVPAC is designed to give me the capacity to go out and help candidates win in 2022, and that’s my political future,” he said. “I’m going to go and help these folks win. And then the Lord knows what will happen after that.”
One of his endorsements last fall went to an Andover school board incumbent. At CPAC, Pompeo said he has traveled the country to help conservative candidates for local government, district attorney offices and school boards.
“I have watched people who didn’t even know where their school board meetings were being held say I’m going to run for school board,” he said.
He pushed for greater parental involvement in schools.
More: Critical race theory, school choice loom large over Kansas lawmakers. Can common ground be reached?
“We should make sure in those schools and in our churches, we are teaching the greatness of the United States of America.”
Pompeo didn’t explicitly mention critical race theory, but he did offer his thoughts on how public schools teach about American history on race relations.
“There is no threat greater to the United States than that which emanates inside our republic, emanates inside our school system,” he said. “If we do not teach our children — the next generation —that we are not a racist nation, then surely the bad guys will come to be right about an American in decline. It is not true.”
Afghanistan and North Korea
Pompeo has been critical of Biden’s hectic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which came as the democratic government collapsed to the Taliban. Pompeo had originally negotiated the withdrawal with Taliban leadership.
“We’ve seen a debacle in Afghanistan that had the result of 13 Americans not come home to their families,” Pompeo said at CPAC.
More: Mike Pompeo says President Biden is ‘leading with weakness’ as Taliban take over Afghanistan
He directly addressed military members who served overseas.
“I know watching what happened in Afghanistan was hard,” Pompeo said. “And it was difficult. And it was depressing. And some of you have questioned whether your service was just wasted. As the former secretary of state, I want you to know that the work that you did in Afghanistan saved American lives. I saw it firsthand that your work was noble and important.”
He talked of a 2018 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom he called a “ruthless leader,” for a hostage negotiation.
“We got all three of the American hostages out,” Pompeo said. “We did not take one penny of yours and give it to a bad guy to get them back. We simply presented American power.”
Jason Tidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Tidd.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Mike Pompeo calls Putin a dictator, blames Biden for Russian war
