thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Pompeo urges future US foreign policy be made through 'filter' of China threat

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Trump would be remembered for jettisoning decades of wrongheaded bipartisan consensus on China , recalibrating U.S. policy to recognize Beijing as a belligerent regime intent on supplanting America as the preeminent superpower .
In an interview to discuss his tenure as Trump ’ s top diplomat , Pompeo told the Washington Examiner that the United States is in a stronger position to counter China than four years ago because of key foreign policy decisions made by the outgoing president .
Pompeo said Trump ’ s innovative strategy started with Washington ’ s crackdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , broadening to enlist a coalition of nations to join the U.S. in combating the panoply of dangers presented by the rising Asian power .
“ Every foreign policy decision that is made ought to be run through the filter of how does this impact the Chinese Communist Party and the threat that it poses to the world , ” Pompeo said Monday during an interview in his State Department office .
“ It is that central to American national security.
” The U.S. cultivated China as an ally a half-century ago as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Soviet Union , head off a destabilizing communist alliance , and win the Cold War .
In the 1990s , Democrats and Republicans in Washington encouraged Beijing to join the West , believing that a China that thrived economically would buy U.S. products and evolve into a benign , democratic country .
The opposite happened .
Trump succeeded in his first presidential campaign partly because he pinpointed China as an economic and national security menace to the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden never challenged that assessment .
But he and other Democrats said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an unresolved trade war that hurt U.S. farmers and Beijing ’ s continued hostility to U.S. interests and aggressive bullying of other nations in the Asia-Pacific region .
Asked if Trump erred in discarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by Barack Obama , Pompeo said that the president distrusts multilateral agreements and claimed it was not a hindrance to U.S. policy toward China .
The TPP , an agreement with several Asian nations , would have tied China ’ s neighbors to the U.S. economically and provided Washington with a potent tool for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party .
“ I think what we will see over the coming years is you ’ ll see these nations have much closer economic relations with the United States of America than they will with the Chinese Communist Party , ” Pompeo said .
“ When I talk to the leaders of these countries , they get the joke .
They get that the Chinese Communist Party has used them as a vassal state and the United States of America views them as a friend and a partner.
” Pompeo , 56 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kansas before becoming the director of the Central Intelligence Agency at the outset of Trump ’ s administration .
When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired in March 2018 , Pompeo moved over from the CIA .
Trump trusts Pompeo , and he is popular with grassroots conservatives .
Yet , establishment Republicans still view Pompeo as an ally .
That , combined with Pompeo ’ s domestic travel and his efforts to cultivate relationships among political and business leaders , has prompted speculation that the secretary is eyeing a 2024 presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made no decisions about his political future .
The following is a transcript of the interview with Pompeo , edited for length and clarity .
Washington Examiner : What did you accomplish at the State Department , and what do you [ think ] the lasting impact of those accomplishments will be ?
Pompeo : I had this enormous advantage .
I came here after being the CIA director .
It ’ s a unique place to start one ’ s time in the administration because I got a chance to see President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ briefing him nearly every day , so I got a chance to observe the things that were priorities for the administration as well as to watch how the team was working together .
When I came to this role , I knew [ the ] president ’ s priorities .
This vision of `` America first '' is intuitive to him — which is that if things are strong here , if America has power ( economic power , diplomatic leverage , a military of scale that can deter ) , then we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things around the world .
Happy to work with partners , allies , and friends , but we ’ re not going to sacrifice American interests for the sake of just being part of some club .
So , when you take a look at how that has unfolded — so , the president set the course and said , yep , China is a strategic competitor .
He started with trade , but then , we began to build it out in the other spaces .
I think , today , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ switch from where previous administrations — and this isn ’ t political because it was Democrats and Republicans alike — there ’ s been no president that was prepared to challenge that orthodoxy , which was : If we engage with China , things will get better , and America will be safe .
That ’ s fundamentally untrue .
President Trump came to recognize it as untrue and so began to push back all across the spectrum and say we ’ re going to take this seriously , we ’ re going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power competition , places like the Chinese Communist Party , I want my diplomats out working to build out a coalition that understands the threat from the Chinese Communist Party , we ’ re going to deny them economic leverage and power .
So , a good place this all came together was telecommunications , where you have a true military component , a true diplomatic component , with Huawei and these state-owned enterprises .
So , [ in ] every space the president said , go out and execute a vision that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese Communist Party .
That is an enormous accomplishment that President Trump should get an awful lot of credit for , and I believe with all my heart that will continue because I think the Chinese Communist Party will continue to demand that it continue .
We flipped the script in the Middle East , too .
Right ?
Again , `` America first , '' the president thinking about — there ’ s things we can do , there ’ s things where we ought not to be engaged in .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of American forces engaged in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan is reduced .
But our capacity to deliver good , peaceful outcomes has increased , and whether that ’ s the Abraham Accords or the enormous pressure we put on the regime in Iran , we have changed the nature of peace and stability there , benefiting the American people .
We ’ ve put a real priority , too , on the central understanding of religious freedom .
The president has made it a priority — you see it with what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the recognition of Israel ’ s capital in Jerusalem .
Just realistic : like , quick , ask , what ’ s the capital of Israel ?
Jerusalem .
OK , 100 % .
So , we recognized it .
Who controls the Golan Heights , well , fine , we ’ ll recognize it .
All of these things were driven by a central understanding of what the reality on the ground was , and then , we knew , too , in nations that permit people to practice their own faith @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those nations were stronger , too .
Regardless of what form their government takes , may not all be democracies .
But in every one of those spaces , we built out this agenda for human rights centered on religious freedom , which I am very confident will reap enormous dividends in global security in the years ahead .
Washington Examiner : Given China continues to act aggressively despite Trump ’ s policies , where are we with China today that we were not four years ago ?
Pompeo : Yeah , they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about this as an adversarial relationship .
We thought , boy , this is just a friend and a partner , and we ’ re going to sell them a whole bunch of our stuff because there ’ s 1.4 billion people .
They said : We ’ re going to bide our time and hide our power .
And they did that .
And so turning that is an extended long process , and it ’ s my view that every foreign policy decision that is made ought to be run through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impact the Chinese Communist Party and the threat that it poses to the world ?
It is that central to American national security .
So , where do we stand today that ’ s different ?
I could give you half a dozen [ examples ] off the top of my head .
At a NATO foreign ministers meeting , I spent an hour and a half talking about China .
That never happened before .
NATO ’ s now thinking about the Chinese threat from cyber capabilities and space capabilities and disinformation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we call the Quad — India , Japan , and Australia , along with the United States .
It was out there a little bit .
We ’ ve now built it into an informal institution that understands the challenge .
This is beginning to work together to push back against that .
So , this is the president ’ s view of leveraging multiple countries .
People talk about multilateral institutions .
I think about multileveraged capabilities , and so , we ’ ve now built that out to something that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese Communist Party when [ it ] engages in malign activity .
We ’ ve worked closely with the [ Association of Southeast Asian Nations ] countries to say , we ’ re going to be there to support you .
When the Chinese Communist Party threatens you in the South China Sea , whether that ’ s your fisheries or you ’ re trying to just drill for energy that is yours , that belongs to you , it ’ s in your exclusive economic zone .
Previous administrations said we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that — you ’ re on your own .
We ’ ve said we ’ ll be there ; we ’ ll provide legal support , diplomatic support , we will speak about the fact that this is inconsistent with international law .
We ’ ll support you in that way .
Look at what we ’ ve done in technology .
I remember my first trip when I went to Europe to talk about Huawei and 5G .
I got laughed at .
Today , there are 60-plus countries that have said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with trusted vendors .
Let me translate that : We ’ re not going to put Chinese hardware and software in our systems .
One hundred-plus telephone companies all around the world and these telcos are the central connectivity , that ’ s who they sell to , they operate by and through these telcos — 100-plus telcos have said , nope , we ’ re not going to do that anymore .
There ’ s not a single country that doesn ’ t understand , when there ’ s an American diplomat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they may be dealing with a bilateral relationship , the threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses to their country will be at the top of mine for everybody that works at the United States Department of State .
So , there has been a huge shift in the prism through which the world sees the Chinese Communist Party , and there has begun an awakening .
I ’ ve used the language : The tide is turning , and I think the Chinese Communist Party sees that .
It ’ s why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rhetoric directed at me , personally , rhetoric directed at the United States , when , in fact , all we ’ re asking — all we ’ re asking them to do is engage in a set of behaviors that are fair and balanced and reciprocal .
Washington Examiner : Stipulating that Trump ’ s trade policies are popular with voters , wouldn ’ t the Trans-Pacific Partnership have been a good tool in your toolbox to help you contain China ?
Pompeo : The president had a fundamental view that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people more than some complex multilateral institution .
Look , we ’ ve seen the [ World Trade Organization ] come to be abused by the Chinese Communist Party .
Right ?
So , we ’ ve seen one example where the global trade organization essentially was hijacked by the Chinese Communist Party .
I think the president was very concerned that the same would happen there .
I think what we will see over the coming years , is you ’ ll see these nations have much closer economic relations with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will with the Chinese Communist Party .
Look , some of them , they ’ re close , they ’ re going to trade , they have long histories together .
But make no mistake about it .
When I talk to the leaders of these countries , they get the joke .
They get that the Chinese Communist Party has used them as a vassal state and the United States of America views them as a friend and a partner .
They can see that different .
In the end , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for close , deep relationships with the United States , which will benefit them and , of course , benefit the United States as well .
Washington Examiner : North Korea — Kim Jong Un is as belligerent as he ’ s ever been .
Pompeo : He hasn ’ t conducted [ a ] single nuclear test .
He hasn ’ t conducted a single , long-range missile test since that very first time that I went to see him .
That ’ s not nothing .
Those are very important capabilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And I ’ m optimistic , I ’ m actually optimistic that Chairman Kim will come to the conclusion — and it may not be on a timeline that we ’ d prefer , it may not be in a pattern that we would say , that would make the most sense for us .
But I ’ m convinced he will come to the same conclusion that President Trump presented to him .
President Trump presented him a proposition .
He said , you ’ re safer without the nuclear weapons @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deter the United States .
We didn ’ t get there yet , but I ’ m confident that those conversations , those meetings that the president had‚ that I had with him , presented a set of possibilities that will benefit Chairman Kim and his people .
Washington Examiner : In Iran , where the administration pulled out of a deal to contain the regime ’ s nuclear weapons capabilities , the mullahs are still committed to pursuing that course of action .
How do you deter Tehran ’ s nuclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : More of what we ’ ve been doing .
Today , the [ Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ] is infinitely poorer than it would have been had the administration ’ s policies before us stayed in place .
I think [ Iranian President Hassan ] Rouhani himself says some $ 70 billion poorer than they would have been .
That ’ s terror money ; that ’ s blood money that ’ s not in their hands .
To back and reward the Iranians ?
To give them any economic relief ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade there ?
Remember , even during the [ Iran deal , ] American businesses weren ’ t permitted to trade there .
How bizarre is that ?
You cut a deal .
You let the French and the Germans go make money and deny American businesses the opportunity .
It was crazy .
To allow them to do that again , to back down that path , will just reward the very intransigent behavior that you highlighted and create more wealth for them to conduct their malign activity around the world .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Peace between Israel and Gulf states ] do not happen without the maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic of Iran .
The Gulf states came to see that America was serious — it was going to reduce the capacity for the mullahs and the ayatollah to conduct campaigns against them .
They said , that ’ s a partner we want to be with , we want to partner with that team , that American team , that Israeli team .
We want to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security and an economic relationship with them .
These things are all connected .
They began with a fundamental understanding that we weren ’ t going to allow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to freeze us in place .
Don ’ t forget it ’ s the Iranians supporting the Palestinians ; it ’ s the Iranians that house al Qaeda .
Right ?
We ’ ve seen the No .
2 in al Qaeda is killed in Tehran .
That ’ s not just because he was wandering through .
This is a regime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ militias around the world , but supporting al Qaeda — the very folks that attacked the United States of America .
This policy we got precisely right .
Washington Examiner : Russia — how should the American people understand the U.S. relationship with Vladimir Putin ’ s Russia ?
Pompeo : We ’ ve tried , I ’ ve tried , to find places where we can work alongside the Russians .
So , for example , we ’ ve spent a lot of time trying to work on arms control with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ getting Vladimir Putin for the first time to say : Happy to put a freeze on warheads .
We couldn ’ t get all the way there with respect to how we were going to verify that .
But that ’ s a big statement for President Putin to make , and I was pleased — but it was important .
They have 1,000 nuclear weapons .
We need to be serious about the strategic dialogue that we have with them .
When I was the CIA director , we worked with them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to see them engaging in [ malign ] activities in Syria , in Ukraine , in places like that that are just inconsistent with how we expect every country to behave .
And we can ’ t reward them for that bad behavior as well .
It ’ s a complicated relationship .
They have a big military and a big nuclear capability and one that we have to continue to take seriously .
Washington Examiner : You were among the few senior Trump administration officials to maintain the president ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did you do it ?
Pompeo : I ’ ve been asked this question a couple of times .
I always think it an odd one .
What I ’ ve done in the administration is the things I ’ ve done all my life , which is that I understand my role , my place .
I know what my duty is .
And every day , I get up and execute that as best I can .
And that means being part of a team .
I know who the boss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral votes and who didn ’ t ; that was him , not me .
But also knowing that that relationship that he and I developed has been an important one .
It ’ s been important that I could go around and talk to leaders around the world knowing that I had a close relationship with President Trump and that when I came to speak to them , I was confident that I was delivering the president ’ s message to them .
That is essential .
I remember former Secretary [ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind to give me some time before I came in saying that ’ s the most important thing you have is the credibility you have to deliver President Trump ’ s message .
And so , President Trump and I have lots of conversations about what the right course of action is .
I give him my best wisdom and the State Department team puts forth — we give him our best thoughts , our best wisdom .
He then says , yep , go do this , don ’ t go do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our tail to try and execute that on behalf of him .
And , you know , I think in that sense , he has respected that effort .
Because he has always known I ’ m going to tell him the truth as best I know it .
When I think we ’ ve got it wrong or we made a decision that wasn ’ t right , I ’ m going to walk in and be crystal clear about what it was , provide him with an alternative as best I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to , when he makes a decision , I ’ m going to go do my best to execute it .

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Trump would be remembered for jettisoning decades of wrongheaded bipartisan consensus on China, recalibrating U.S. policy to recognize Beijing as a belligerent regime intent on supplanting America as the preeminent superpower.
In an interview to discuss his tenure as Trump’s top diplomat, Pompeo told the Washington Examiner that the United States is in a stronger position to counter China than four years ago because of key foreign policy decisions made by the outgoing president. Pompeo said Trump’s innovative strategy started with Washington’s crackdown on Beijing’s unfair trade practices, broadening to enlist a coalition of nations to join the U.S. in combating the panoply of dangers presented by the rising Asian power.
“Every foreign policy decision that is made ought to be run through the filter of how does this impact the Chinese Communist Party and the threat that it poses to the world,” Pompeo said Monday during an interview in his State Department office. “It is that central to American national security.”
The U.S. cultivated China as an ally a half-century ago as a part of a policy to contain the Soviet Union, head off a destabilizing communist alliance, and win the Cold War. In the 1990s, Democrats and Republicans in Washington encouraged Beijing to join the West, believing that a China that thrived economically would buy U.S. products and evolve into a benign, democratic country. The opposite happened.
Trump succeeded in his first presidential campaign partly because he pinpointed China as an economic and national security menace to the U.S. President-elect Joe Biden never challenged that assessment. But he and other Democrats said Trump failed to achieve results, pointing to an unresolved trade war that hurt U.S. farmers and Beijing’s continued hostility to U.S. interests and aggressive bullying of other nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Asked if Trump erred in discarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by Barack Obama, Pompeo said that the president distrusts multilateral agreements and claimed it was not a hindrance to U.S. policy toward China. The TPP, an agreement with several Asian nations, would have tied China’s neighbors to the U.S. economically and provided Washington with a potent tool for checking the ambitions of the ruling communist party.
“I think what we will see over the coming years is you’ll see these nations have much closer economic relations with the United States of America than they will with the Chinese Communist Party,” Pompeo said. “When I talk to the leaders of these countries, they get the joke. They get that the Chinese Communist Party has used them as a vassal state and the United States of America views them as a friend and a partner.”
Pompeo, 56, spent six years in the House representing Kansas before becoming the director of the Central Intelligence Agency at the outset of Trump’s administration. When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired in March 2018, Pompeo moved over from the CIA. Trump trusts Pompeo, and he is popular with grassroots conservatives. Yet, establishment Republicans still view Pompeo as an ally.
That, combined with Pompeo’s domestic travel and his efforts to cultivate relationships among political and business leaders, has prompted speculation that the secretary is eyeing a 2024 presidential bid. The secretary said he has made no decisions about his political future. The following is a transcript of the interview with Pompeo, edited for length and clarity.
Washington Examiner: What did you accomplish at the State Department, and what do you [think] the lasting impact of those accomplishments will be?
Pompeo: I had this enormous advantage. I came here after being the CIA director. It’s a unique place to start one’s time in the administration because I got a chance to see President Trump’s vision. I was briefing him nearly every day, so I got a chance to observe the things that were priorities for the administration as well as to watch how the team was working together. When I came to this role, I knew [the] president’s priorities. This vision of "America first" is intuitive to him — which is that if things are strong here, if America has power (economic power, diplomatic leverage, a military of scale that can deter), then we have a real opportunity to do good things around the world. Happy to work with partners, allies, and friends, but we’re not going to sacrifice American interests for the sake of just being part of some club. So, when you take a look at how that has unfolded — so, the president set the course and said, yep, China is a strategic competitor.
He started with trade, but then, we began to build it out in the other spaces. I think, today, if you said what’s the biggest switch from where previous administrations — and this isn’t political because it was Democrats and Republicans alike — there’s been no president that was prepared to challenge that orthodoxy, which was: If we engage with China, things will get better, and America will be safe. That’s fundamentally untrue. President Trump came to recognize it as untrue and so began to push back all across the spectrum and say we’re going to take this seriously, we’re going to orient our military towards confronting great power competition, places like the Chinese Communist Party, I want my diplomats out working to build out a coalition that understands the threat from the Chinese Communist Party, we’re going to deny them economic leverage and power. So, a good place this all came together was telecommunications, where you have a true military component, a true diplomatic component, with Huawei and these state-owned enterprises. So, [in] every space the president said, go out and execute a vision that protects America from the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. That is an enormous accomplishment that President Trump should get an awful lot of credit for, and I believe with all my heart that will continue because I think the Chinese Communist Party will continue to demand that it continue. We flipped the script in the Middle East, too. Right?
Again, "America first," the president thinking about — there’s things we can do, there’s things where we ought not to be engaged in. So, you could see the total number of American forces engaged in Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan is reduced. But our capacity to deliver good, peaceful outcomes has increased, and whether that’s the Abraham Accords or the enormous pressure we put on the regime in Iran, we have changed the nature of peace and stability there, benefiting the American people. We’ve put a real priority, too, on the central understanding of religious freedom. The president has made it a priority — you see it with what we do with the recognition of Israel — the recognition of Israel’s capital in Jerusalem. Just realistic: like, quick, ask, what’s the capital of Israel? Jerusalem. OK, 100%. So, we recognized it. Who controls the Golan Heights, well, fine, we’ll recognize it. All of these things were driven by a central understanding of what the reality on the ground was, and then, we knew, too, in nations that permit people to practice their own faith in the way that they want, those nations were stronger, too. Regardless of what form their government takes, may not all be democracies. But in every one of those spaces, we built out this agenda for human rights centered on religious freedom, which I am very confident will reap enormous dividends in global security in the years ahead.
Washington Examiner: Given China continues to act aggressively despite Trump’s policies, where are we with China today that we were not four years ago?
Pompeo: Yeah, they had a 50-year head start in thinking about this as an adversarial relationship. We thought, boy, this is just a friend and a partner, and we’re going to sell them a whole bunch of our stuff because there’s 1.4 billion people. They said: We’re going to bide our time and hide our power. And they did that. And so turning that is an extended long process, and it’s my view that every foreign policy decision that is made ought to be run through the filter of: How does this impact the Chinese Communist Party and the threat that it poses to the world? It is that central to American national security. So, where do we stand today that’s different? I could give you half a dozen [examples] off the top of my head. At a NATO foreign ministers meeting, I spent an hour and a half talking about China. That never happened before. NATO’s now thinking about the Chinese threat from cyber capabilities and space capabilities and disinformation campaigns. There’s a group we call the Quad — India, Japan, and Australia, along with the United States. It was out there a little bit. We’ve now built it into an informal institution that understands the challenge. This is beginning to work together to push back against that. So, this is the president’s view of leveraging multiple countries.
People talk about multilateral institutions. I think about multileveraged capabilities, and so, we’ve now built that out to something that is powerful and imposing real costs on the Chinese Communist Party when [it] engages in malign activity. We’ve worked closely with the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] countries to say, we’re going to be there to support you. When the Chinese Communist Party threatens you in the South China Sea, whether that’s your fisheries or you’re trying to just drill for energy that is yours, that belongs to you, it’s in your exclusive economic zone. Previous administrations said we’re just not going to mess with that — you’re on your own. We’ve said we’ll be there; we’ll provide legal support, diplomatic support, we will speak about the fact that this is inconsistent with international law. We’ll support you in that way. Look at what we’ve done in technology. I remember my first trip when I went to Europe to talk about Huawei and 5G. I got laughed at. Today, there are 60-plus countries that have said we’re only going to operate with trusted vendors. Let me translate that: We’re not going to put Chinese hardware and software in our systems. One hundred-plus telephone companies all around the world and these telcos are the central connectivity, that’s who they sell to, they operate by and through these telcos — 100-plus telcos have said, nope, we’re not going to do that anymore. There’s not a single country that doesn’t understand, when there’s an American diplomat coming to see them, that while they may be dealing with a bilateral relationship, the threat that the Chinese Communist Party poses to their country will be at the top of mine for everybody that works at the United States Department of State.
So, there has been a huge shift in the prism through which the world sees the Chinese Communist Party, and there has begun an awakening. I’ve used the language: The tide is turning, and I think the Chinese Communist Party sees that. It’s why you’ve seen the rhetoric, rhetoric directed at me, personally, rhetoric directed at the United States, when, in fact, all we’re asking — all we’re asking them to do is engage in a set of behaviors that are fair and balanced and reciprocal.
Washington Examiner: Stipulating that Trump’s trade policies are popular with voters, wouldn’t the Trans-Pacific Partnership have been a good tool in your toolbox to help you contain China?
Pompeo: The president had a fundamental view that a set of bilateral trade arrangements benefits the American people more than some complex multilateral institution. Look, we’ve seen the [World Trade Organization] come to be abused by the Chinese Communist Party. Right? So, we’ve seen one example where the global trade organization essentially was hijacked by the Chinese Communist Party. I think the president was very concerned that the same would happen there. I think what we will see over the coming years, is you’ll see these nations have much closer economic relations with the United States of America than they will with the Chinese Communist Party. Look, some of them, they’re close, they’re going to trade, they have long histories together. But make no mistake about it. When I talk to the leaders of these countries, they get the joke. They get that the Chinese Communist Party has used them as a vassal state and the United States of America views them as a friend and a partner. They can see that different. In the end, the results will be that they will long for close, deep relationships with the United States, which will benefit them and, of course, benefit the United States as well.
Washington Examiner: North Korea — Kim Jong Un is as belligerent as he’s ever been.
Pompeo: I don’t think that’s true.
Washington Examiner: OK, explain.
Pompeo: He hasn’t conducted [a] single nuclear test. He hasn’t conducted a single, long-range missile test since that very first time that I went to see him. That’s not nothing. Those are very important capabilities that he remains in need of testing. And I’m optimistic, I’m actually optimistic that Chairman Kim will come to the conclusion — and it may not be on a timeline that we’d prefer, it may not be in a pattern that we would say, that would make the most sense for us. But I’m convinced he will come to the same conclusion that President Trump presented to him. President Trump presented him a proposition. He said, you’re safer without the nuclear weapons, you don’t need that to deter the United States. We didn’t get there yet, but I’m confident that those conversations, those meetings that the president had‚ that I had with him, presented a set of possibilities that will benefit Chairman Kim and his people.
Washington Examiner: In Iran, where the administration pulled out of a deal to contain the regime’s nuclear weapons capabilities, the mullahs are still committed to pursuing that course of action. How do you deter Tehran’s nuclear ambitions short of military action?
Pompeo: More of what we’ve been doing. Today, the [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] is infinitely poorer than it would have been had the administration’s policies before us stayed in place. I think [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani himself says some $70 billion poorer than they would have been. That’s terror money; that’s blood money that’s not in their hands. To back and reward the Iranians? To give them any economic relief? To allow the French or British to trade there? Remember, even during the [Iran deal,] American businesses weren’t permitted to trade there. How bizarre is that? You cut a deal. You let the French and the Germans go make money and deny American businesses the opportunity. It was crazy. To allow them to do that again, to back down that path, will just reward the very intransigent behavior that you highlighted and create more wealth for them to conduct their malign activity around the world.
You mentioned the Abraham Accords. [Peace between Israel and Gulf states] do not happen without the maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Gulf states came to see that America was serious — it was going to reduce the capacity for the mullahs and the ayatollah to conduct campaigns against them. They said, that’s a partner we want to be with, we want to partner with that team, that American team, that Israeli team. We want to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist because we want to benefit from a security and an economic relationship with them. These things are all connected. They began with a fundamental understanding that we weren’t going to allow the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to freeze us in place. Don’t forget it’s the Iranians supporting the Palestinians; it’s the Iranians that house al Qaeda. Right? We’ve seen the No. 2 in al Qaeda is killed in Tehran. That’s not just because he was wandering through. This is a regime that’s not just operating its militias around the world, but supporting al Qaeda — the very folks that attacked the United States of America. This policy we got precisely right.
Washington Examiner: Russia — how should the American people understand the U.S. relationship with Vladimir Putin’s Russia?
Pompeo: We’ve tried, I’ve tried, to find places where we can work alongside the Russians. So, for example, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to work on arms control with the Russians — and frankly, were successful getting Vladimir Putin for the first time to say: Happy to put a freeze on warheads. We couldn’t get all the way there with respect to how we were going to verify that. But that’s a big statement for President Putin to make, and I was pleased — but it was important. They have 1,000 nuclear weapons. We need to be serious about the strategic dialogue that we have with them. When I was the CIA director, we worked with them on counterterrorism. And yet, you continue to see them engaging in [malign] activities in Syria, in Ukraine, in places like that that are just inconsistent with how we expect every country to behave. And we can’t reward them for that bad behavior as well. It’s a complicated relationship. They have a big military and a big nuclear capability and one that we have to continue to take seriously.
Washington Examiner: You were among the few senior Trump administration officials to maintain the president’s trust all the way through. How did you do it?
Pompeo: I’ve been asked this question a couple of times. I always think it an odd one. What I’ve done in the administration is the things I’ve done all my life, which is that I understand my role, my place. I know what my duty is. And every day, I get up and execute that as best I can. And that means being part of a team.
I know who the boss is. I know who got 306 electoral votes and who didn’t; that was him, not me. But also knowing that that relationship that he and I developed has been an important one. It’s been important that I could go around and talk to leaders around the world knowing that I had a close relationship with President Trump and that when I came to speak to them, I was confident that I was delivering the president’s message to them. That is essential. I remember former Secretary [of State] Jim Baker being so kind to give me some time before I came in saying that’s the most important thing you have is the credibility you have to deliver President Trump’s message. And so, President Trump and I have lots of conversations about what the right course of action is. I give him my best wisdom and the State Department team puts forth — we give him our best thoughts, our best wisdom. He then says, yep, go do this, don’t go do that, and then, we bust our tail to try and execute that on behalf of him. And, you know, I think in that sense, he has respected that effort. Because he has always known I’m going to tell him the truth as best I know it. When I think we’ve got it wrong or we made a decision that wasn’t right, I’m going to walk in and be crystal clear about what it was, provide him with an alternative as best I can. And then, he knows to, when he makes a decision, I’m going to go do my best to execute it.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Unwavering loyalty to Trump damages evangelicals' Christian witness

Beth Moore , the prominent evangelical Bible study leader and speaker , excoriated enthusiastic Christians supporting President Trump in several tweets that went viral over the weekend .
Moore voiced her concerns that some Christians seem to love the outgoing president more than God .
Moore ’ s tweets are no surprise .
They are consistent with her views on Trump since the beginning , but they do demonstrate what is perhaps an increasing divide between evangelicals who supported Trump because the alternatives seemed worse ( and because they thought he could preserve conservative values through policy ) and those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( despite losing the election ) to the detriment of their Christian testimony .
Not all Christians were happy with Moore ’ s sentiment .
In October , reported that evangelical support for Trump had slipped , though data from Pew and show that white evangelical support for Trump remained strong through the election .
“ The AP VoteCast survey shows that 81 % of white evangelical Protestant voters went for Trump this year , compared with 18 % who voted for Biden , ” a post-election Gallup report reads .
Despite an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November , the Trump administration has fought the election results in multiple lawsuits that failed at nearly every turn .
The state of Texas went to the Supreme Court on Trump 's behalf , taking issue with “ voting irregularities ” and other election improprieties in several states , and the court declined to hear it .
Let ’ s face it : Trump lost , but many can ’ t seem to face it .
They have dug in , and they are unable to come to grips with reality .
Michele @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minnesota for whom I worked during her first bid for office in 2006 , made a video calling on God to use his “ strong iron rod ” to “ smash the delusion ” that Biden had won the election .
I have always liked Bachmann on a personal level , but the rant sounds like a delusion itself .
In a recent titled “ This is your soul on Trump , ” the Washington Examiner ’ s Tim Carney describes this as an issue that has rooted deeply into the spiritual being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decided to join Team Trump chose poorly , '' Carney writes .
`` It was perfectly possible to vote for Trump , for his judges , for his tax cuts , without becoming an obeisant loyalist .
It was perfectly possible to point out the hypocrisy and dishonesty of many of Trump ’ s critics without pledging slavish loyalty .
Yet , many signed their souls over.
” We are observing a strange attempt at a spiritual coup d'etat , doubling as a political revolution , wrapped in a feverish allegiance to `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evangelicals in the last four years have clearly made Trump their god and MAGA their religion .
Others got so used to the promise of religious liberty and Supreme Court justices , they couldn ’ t fathom another path .
Either way , it ’ s one thing to vote for the lesser of two evils , to support a president when he accomplishes some good things for conservative ideals .
It ’ s quite another to hold fast to the delusion that he can and must remain president , or otherwise , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
It is a mistake to intertwine Christianity with conservatism in this way .
They can and often do interlock , but Trump should not be a substitute for God and MAGA for true conservatism .
Trump is no god .
At the same time , a liberal president is not the undoing of America or of liberty .
Biden is not the devil .
To believe such is to allow the ephemeral to taint one of the core tenets of evangelism : God ’ s sovereignty .
That 's not to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t fight for beliefs rooted in their faith , such as the preservation of family , protection of unborn babies , the recognition of male and female differences , and more , though when the fight becomes irrational and idolatrous , that leads to a larger problem .
It represents an inability , or an unwillingness , to separate the institution of good policies from devotion to a person .
The very essence of the modern Christmas celebration for evangelicals is to usher in a new kingdom whose reach is vast and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind , yet powerful and just .
That ruler is not Trump , and that kingdom is not America .
Christians already worship a king .
Evangelicals who continue to confuse these concepts do Christ and Christianity a grave disservice .
Nicole Russell ( @ russell_nm ) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner 's Beltway Confidential blog .
She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota .

Beth Moore, the prominent evangelical Bible study leader and speaker, excoriated enthusiastic Christians supporting President Trump in several tweets that went viral over the weekend. Moore voiced her concerns that some Christians seem to love the outgoing president more than God.
I do not believe these are days for mincing words. I’m 63 1/2 years old & I have never seen anything in these United States of America I found more astonishingly seductive & dangerous to the saints of God than Trumpism. This Christian nationalism is not of God. Move back from it. — Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) December 13, 2020
Moore’s tweets are no surprise. They are consistent with her views on Trump since the beginning, but they do demonstrate what is perhaps an increasing divide between evangelicals who supported Trump because the alternatives seemed worse (and because they thought he could preserve conservative values through policy) and those who still support him with rabid fervor (despite losing the election) to the detriment of their Christian testimony.
Not all Christians were happy with Moore’s sentiment.
Ma’am, you’ve honest to God lost your mind. This trashy rhetoric is why America is in the place that she is. You say “move away”. I rebuke you in the name of Christ. You are NO friend to babies, Israel, religious Liberty or the nuclear family. SIT DOWN. — Pastor Greg Locke (@pastorlocke) December 13, 2020
I wish you spoke out against abortion as loudly as you do over your petty political nonsense. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 14, 2020
In October, Pew Research Center reported that evangelical support for Trump had slipped, though data from Pew and Gallup show that white evangelical support for Trump remained strong through the election. “The AP VoteCast survey shows that 81% of white evangelical Protestant voters went for Trump this year, compared with 18% who voted for Biden,” a post-election Gallup report reads.
Despite an obvious loss at the ballot box in November, the Trump administration has fought the election results in multiple lawsuits that failed at nearly every turn. The state of Texas went to the Supreme Court on Trump's behalf, taking issue with “voting irregularities” and other election improprieties in several states, and the court declined to hear it.
Let’s face it: Trump lost, but many can’t seem to face it. They have dug in, and they are unable to come to grips with reality.
Michele Bachmann, the former Republican congresswoman from Minnesota for whom I worked during her first bid for office in 2006, made a video calling on God to use his “strong iron rod” to “smash the delusion” that Biden had won the election. I have always liked Bachmann on a personal level, but the rant sounds like a delusion itself.
In a recent column titled “This is your soul on Trump,” the Washington Examiner’s Tim Carney describes this as an issue that has rooted deeply into the spiritual being of Trump believers. “Everyone who decided to join Team Trump chose poorly," Carney writes. "It was perfectly possible to vote for Trump, for his judges, for his tax cuts, without becoming an obeisant loyalist. It was perfectly possible to point out the hypocrisy and dishonesty of many of Trump’s critics without pledging slavish loyalty. Yet, many signed their souls over.”
We are observing a strange attempt at a spiritual coup d'etat, doubling as a political revolution, wrapped in a feverish allegiance to "Make America Great Again." Some evangelicals in the last four years have clearly made Trump their god and MAGA their religion. Others got so used to the promise of religious liberty and Supreme Court justices, they couldn’t fathom another path.
Either way, it’s one thing to vote for the lesser of two evils, to support a president when he accomplishes some good things for conservative ideals. It’s quite another to hold fast to the delusion that he can and must remain president, or otherwise, conservatism will fail and Christian ideals with it.
It is a mistake to intertwine Christianity with conservatism in this way. They can and often do interlock, but Trump should not be a substitute for God and MAGA for true conservatism. Trump is no god.
At the same time, a liberal president is not the undoing of America or of liberty. Biden is not the devil. To believe such is to allow the ephemeral to taint one of the core tenets of evangelism: God’s sovereignty. That's not to say that Christians or anyone else shouldn’t fight for beliefs rooted in their faith, such as the preservation of family, protection of unborn babies, the recognition of male and female differences, and more, though when the fight becomes irrational and idolatrous, that leads to a larger problem. It represents an inability, or an unwillingness, to separate the institution of good policies from devotion to a person.
The very essence of the modern Christmas celebration for evangelicals is to usher in a new kingdom whose reach is vast and the ruler of which is humble and kind, yet powerful and just. That ruler is not Trump, and that kingdom is not America. Christians already worship a king. Evangelicals who continue to confuse these concepts do Christ and Christianity a grave disservice.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--'Beyond bizarre': Dominion CEO testifies election fraud claims about company are 'complete lies'

A top Dominion Voting Systems official testified under oath to Michigan state lawmakers that accusations leveled against his company by some of President Trump ’ s allies are complete fabrications .
John Poulos , the CEO of the company , volunteered to testify before the Michigan Senate ’ s Oversight Committee on Tuesday and delivered a lengthy opening statement addressing post-election allegations of wrongdoing and answered questions from members of the legislature .
He highlighted some of the accusations by Sidney Powell , a former attorney with the Trump campaign who has been spearheading so-called “ Kraken ” lawsuits in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who claimed Dominion is tied to another company called Smartmatic that helped now-deceased Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez win elections .
“ Dominion does not have any ties to Smartmatic , ” Poulos told the committee .
“ Dominion and Smartmatic are two separate companies .
We do not use or license Smartmatic software .
The extent of our relationship is this : In 2009 , Smartmatic licensed the use of a Dominion voting machine for use in the Philippines .
That agreement is long over , and they no longer have the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ property .
“ Poulos denied several claims about his company 's hardware and programming since the election , noting that they are only a sampling of the “ most egregious lies.
” “ Dominion is not and has never been a front for communists , ” he continued .
“ It has no ties to Hugo Chavez , the late dictator of Venezuela .
We have never been involved in Venezuelan elections .
Its machines have never been used in Venezuela.
” A supporting affidavit in appearing in the Kraken legal effort claimed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actors , including foreign interference by Iran and China , '' which Poulos dismissed .
“ The company also does not have any ties to China whatsoever , including no ties involving investment or source code transfer , ” he said before running through a list of names and families to which Dominion is not connected .
“ There are no ownership ties to any political parties nor to foreign governments .
Dominion has no ties to the Pelosi family , Feinstein family , Clinton family , or George Soros , ” the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the origins of Dominion , which was incorporated in 2003 in Toronto .
The company was later relocated to the United States , and its headquarters is now located in Denver .
“ The comments about our company being started in Venezuela with Cuban money with the intent to steal elections are beyond bizarre and are complete lies , ” Poulos said .
“ My company started in my basement , which happened to be in Toronto , and our only intention was to help blind people vote on paper ballots.
” Poulos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Antrim County , Michigan , filed a lawsuit claiming electoral malfeasance spurred by Dominion voting machines .
A glitch caused by human error temporarily showed that President-elect Joe Biden was winning the small county instead of Trump .
The judge in the case allowed a “ forensic audit ” by an IT group involved with other Trump lawsuits to be released with small redactions .
The report claimed that Dominion machines are “ intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.
” State officials and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mischaracterized data and was misleading .
Michigan is going to do a hand count of the paper ballots in Antrim County to confirm that the results are the same as the electronic ones .
Michigan ’ s Electoral College delivered all 16 of its votes to Biden on Monday .
He won the state by more than 150,000 votes .

A top Dominion Voting Systems official testified under oath to Michigan state lawmakers that accusations leveled against his company by some of President Trump’s allies are complete fabrications.
John Poulos, the CEO of the company, volunteered to testify before the Michigan Senate’s Oversight Committee on Tuesday and delivered a lengthy opening statement addressing post-election allegations of wrongdoing and answered questions from members of the legislature.
He highlighted some of the accusations by Sidney Powell, a former attorney with the Trump campaign who has been spearheading so-called “Kraken” lawsuits in several states and alleging widespread election fraud, who claimed Dominion is tied to another company called Smartmatic that helped now-deceased Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez win elections.
“Dominion does not have any ties to Smartmatic,” Poulos told the committee. “Dominion and Smartmatic are two separate companies. We do not use or license Smartmatic software. The extent of our relationship is this: In 2009, Smartmatic licensed the use of a Dominion voting machine for use in the Philippines. That agreement is long over, and they no longer have the ability to use any of our intellectual property. “
Poulos denied several claims about his company's hardware and programming since the election, noting that they are only a sampling of the “most egregious lies.”
“Dominion is not and has never been a front for communists,” he continued. “It has no ties to Hugo Chavez, the late dictator of Venezuela. We have never been involved in Venezuelan elections. Its machines have never been used in Venezuela.”
A supporting affidavit in appearing in the Kraken legal effort claimed the company “was compromised by rogue actors, including foreign interference by Iran and China," which Poulos dismissed.
“The company also does not have any ties to China whatsoever, including no ties involving investment or source code transfer,” he said before running through a list of names and families to which Dominion is not connected.
“There are no ownership ties to any political parties nor to foreign governments. Dominion has no ties to the Pelosi family, Feinstein family, Clinton family, or George Soros,” the CEO testified.
He also spoke about the origins of Dominion, which was incorporated in 2003 in Toronto. The company was later relocated to the United States, and its headquarters is now located in Denver.
“The comments about our company being started in Venezuela with Cuban money with the intent to steal elections are beyond bizarre and are complete lies,” Poulos said. “My company started in my basement, which happened to be in Toronto, and our only intention was to help blind people vote on paper ballots.”
Poulos’s testimony comes after a man in Antrim County, Michigan, filed a lawsuit claiming electoral malfeasance spurred by Dominion voting machines. A glitch caused by human error temporarily showed that President-elect Joe Biden was winning the small county instead of Trump. The judge in the case allowed a “forensic audit” by an IT group involved with other Trump lawsuits to be released with small redactions.
The report claimed that Dominion machines are “intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results.” State officials and Dominion officials have said that the report mischaracterized data and was misleading. Michigan is going to do a hand count of the paper ballots in Antrim County to confirm that the results are the same as the electronic ones.
Michigan’s Electoral College delivered all 16 of its votes to Biden on Monday. He won the state by more than 150,000 votes.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Incoming Biden deputy chief of staff calls Republicans 'a bunch of f---ers'

President-elect Joe Biden 's top campaign aide and incoming White House staff No .
2 delivered a vulgar description of Republicans during a sit-down with a glossy women 's magazine .
In an interview with Glamour , Jen O'Malley Dillon , Biden 's campaign manager and the next White House deputy chief of staff , defended her boss for pushing bipartisanship .
`` In the primary , people would mock him , like , 'You think you can work with Republicans ? '
I 'm not saying they 're not a bunch of f -- -ers .
Mitch McConnell is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could n't wish for that , you could n't wish for this bipartisan ideal ?
He rejected that , '' she said .
Biden won the general election by appealing to the public 's sense of unity , according to Dillon .
`` From the start to finish , he set out with this idea that unity was possible , that together we are stronger , that we , as a country , need healing , and our politics needs that too , '' she said .
Dillon was former President Barack Obama @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battleground states director in 2008 .
She did n't join the administration , but she worked for the Democratic National Committee instead .
She later opened up her own consulting shop with other Obama alumni , including Stephanie Cutter and Teddy Goff .
Her stewardship of Biden 's 2020 campaign makes her the first woman to manage a Democratic presidential bid successfully and oust a sitting president .
The mother of three 's father was sick with cancer when she accepted the job with Biden in April , after serving in the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before he dropped out of contention .
She opened up about juggling all her responsibilities .
`` When you have a meeting somebody wants to schedule , so many women are like , 'Well , I do n't want to tell them I ca n't make it because I have a school thing or my kid is sick , because that 's not professional , ' '' she said .
She continued , `` F -- - that .
Why should n't I say , 'Actually , you ca n't talk to me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an emergency , even on a presidential campaign during a pandemic , because that is the only time I have with my kids .
And that is more important . '
'' Dillon is expected to work closely with incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain after Biden 's inauguration on Jan. 20 .

President-elect Joe Biden's top campaign aide and incoming White House staff No. 2 delivered a vulgar description of Republicans during a sit-down with a glossy women's magazine.
In an interview with Glamour, Jen O'Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign manager and the next White House deputy chief of staff, defended her boss for pushing bipartisanship.
"In the primary, people would mock him, like, 'You think you can work with Republicans?' I'm not saying they're not a bunch of f---ers. Mitch McConnell is terrible. But this sense that you couldn't wish for that, you couldn't wish for this bipartisan ideal? He rejected that," she said.
Biden won the general election by appealing to the public's sense of unity, according to Dillon.
"From the start to finish, he set out with this idea that unity was possible, that together we are stronger, that we, as a country, need healing, and our politics needs that too," she said.
Dillon was former President Barack Obama's deputy campaign manager in 2012 and battleground states director in 2008. She didn't join the administration, but she worked for the Democratic National Committee instead. She later opened up her own consulting shop with other Obama alumni, including Stephanie Cutter and Teddy Goff.
Her stewardship of Biden's 2020 campaign makes her the first woman to manage a Democratic presidential bid successfully and oust a sitting president.
The mother of three's father was sick with cancer when she accepted the job with Biden in April, after serving in the same role for former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke before he dropped out of contention. She opened up about juggling all her responsibilities.
"When you have a meeting somebody wants to schedule, so many women are like, 'Well, I don't want to tell them I can't make it because I have a school thing or my kid is sick, because that's not professional,'" she said.
She continued, "F--- that. Why shouldn't I say, 'Actually, you can't talk to me from 6:30 until 8:00 unless it's an emergency, even on a presidential campaign during a pandemic, because that is the only time I have with my kids. And that is more important.'"
Dillon is expected to work closely with incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain after Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--'Crushed propaganda generated by Mueller': Pompeo commends Barr

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lauded Attorney General William Barr for his handling of the Russia investigation in unusual comments touching on both domestic politics and foreign policy .
President Trump was the subject of a two-year federal inquiry into allegations that he conspired with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in his 2016 campaign .
Pompeo , a possible 2024 presidential candidate , tweeted Tuesday that Barr adeptly managed the conclusion of the investigation , overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller .
Trump and his supporters contend the investigation was based on a hoax perpetuated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crushed the propaganda generated by Mueller against President Trump and preserved our Republic from the rogue FBI and Special Counsel ’ s efforts to undermine the 2016 election based on a bogus theory of Russian collusion , '' Pompeo said in an extended post on Twitter .
`` President Trump had AG Barr ’ s support and commitment to defending law and order against rioters .
Protecting our citizens from these looters and anarchists was the right thing to do and AG Barr made it happen . ''
In an interview with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moscow has repeatedly attempted to influence the outcome of elections in the United States .
`` The Russians continue to engage in malign cyber activity around the world , '' he said during an interview at the State Department .
`` We saw it in [ the ] 2016 election , less so in the 2020 election .
But we ’ d seen it in the 2012 and the 2008 election as well . ''
Barr this week submitted his resignation to Trump and will leave the Justice Department before Christmas .
Pompeo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President-elect Joe Biden 's inauguration .
In Monday 's interview , the secretary did not rule out a future White House bid , although he emphasized that he has not given his political future much consideration .
Still , the issue of the Russia investigation could animate grassroots Republicans for the foreseeable future , and Pompeo could be laying down a marker with his adulation of Barr 's role in winding down the inquiry .
Meanwhile , Pompeo thanked Barr for his work on the Central Intelligence Agency advisory board , which coincided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AG Barr first served our Administration as a member of my Advisory Board at the CIA .
He made me a better Director and the Agency a stronger espionage force , '' he said .
`` I fully supported Bill to become AG as I knew he would serve with professionalism and elan , he did that and more . ''

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lauded Attorney General William Barr for his handling of the Russia investigation in unusual comments touching on both domestic politics and foreign policy.
President Trump was the subject of a two-year federal inquiry into allegations that he conspired with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in his 2016 campaign. Pompeo, a possible 2024 presidential candidate, tweeted Tuesday that Barr adeptly managed the conclusion of the investigation, overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump and his supporters contend the investigation was based on a hoax perpetuated by the Democrats.
"AG Barr crushed the propaganda generated by Mueller against President Trump and preserved our Republic from the rogue FBI and Special Counsel’s efforts to undermine the 2016 election based on a bogus theory of Russian collusion," Pompeo said in an extended post on Twitter. "President Trump had AG Barr’s support and commitment to defending law and order against rioters. Protecting our citizens from these looters and anarchists was the right thing to do and AG Barr made it happen."
AG Barr crushed the propaganda generated by Mueller against President Trump and preserved our Republic from the rogue FBI and Special Counsel’s efforts to undermine the 2016 election based on a bogus theory of Russian collusion. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 15, 2020
In an interview with the Washington Examiner Monday, Pompeo acknowledged that Moscow has repeatedly attempted to influence the outcome of elections in the United States. "The Russians continue to engage in malign cyber activity around the world," he said during an interview at the State Department. "We saw it in [the] 2016 election, less so in the 2020 election. But we’d seen it in the 2012 and the 2008 election as well."
Barr this week submitted his resignation to Trump and will leave the Justice Department before Christmas. Pompeo is exiting Foggy Bottom to coincide with President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.
In Monday's interview, the secretary did not rule out a future White House bid, although he emphasized that he has not given his political future much consideration. Still, the issue of the Russia investigation could animate grassroots Republicans for the foreseeable future, and Pompeo could be laying down a marker with his adulation of Barr's role in winding down the inquiry.
Meanwhile, Pompeo thanked Barr for his work on the Central Intelligence Agency advisory board, which coincided with his tenure as director.
"AG Barr first served our Administration as a member of my Advisory Board at the CIA. He made me a better Director and the Agency a stronger espionage force," he said. "I fully supported Bill to become AG as I knew he would serve with professionalism and elan, he did that and more."


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Raphael Warnock steps into political glare amid historic Georgia Senate bid

Democrat Raphael Warnock is looking to make history as Georgia 's first black senator in his high-stakes special election runoff against Republican millionaire businesswoman Kelly Loeffler .
The contest between political novices Warnock , 51 , and Loeffler , 50 , on Jan. 5 for the remaining two years of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson 's term will determine Senate control in the next Congress .
And with more than $ 500 million to be funneled into Georgia ahead of their matchup and a twin runoff between Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democratic filmmaker Jon Ossoff , both Loeffler and Warnock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a preacher , emerged relatively unscathed from the Nov. 3 election after Loeffler , who 's trying to become Georgia 's first elected woman senator , became locked in a primary-like dynamic with Republican Rep. Doug Collins , the two competing over GOP voters amid a crowded 21-candidate field .
But now , it 's Warnock 's turn to stand under the political spotlight .
Warnock , the 11th of a dozen children born to two Savannah pastors , was raised in public housing .
His father was a veteran and small businessman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After graduating from celebrated historically black Morehouse College and preaching in New York and Baltimore , he became senior pastor at Atlanta 's Ebenezer Baptist Church , Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. 's former pulpit , in 2005 .
Although he was lauded in 2015 for leading a sit-in pushing Georgia lawmakers to expand Medicaid , Warnock 's 15 years of sermons are hurting him this cycle .
In some of those sermons , Warnock 's criticized police officers and Israel yet expressed sympathy for Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making claims , such as that it was impossible to `` serve God and the military , '' have been taken out of context .
Warnock was also scrutinized over allegations that he obstructed police during a 2002 physical child abuse investigation at a Maryland church-run camp .
The charges were dropped after it became clear he wanted an adult present while the child suspect was being questioned .
Warnock 's associations , too , have been damaging .
He was pressed on 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams ' refusal to concede @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pair teamed up on the New Georgia Project , a voting rights organization .
He 's routinely had to defend his support of Rev .
Jeremiah Wright , former President Barack Obama 's erstwhile pastor , as well .
Warnock , a father of two , has been juggling the campaign with finalizing his divorce in November .
Ouleye Ndoye , his wife of three years , accused him in March of driving over her foot with his Tesla after an argument about whether their children should apply for passports .
Warnock disputes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't treat Ndoye for any serious injuries .
The Warnock-Loeffler race will hinge on turnout .
Although Republicans have traditionally outperformed Democrats in Georgia 's runoff history , Warnock 's presence on the ticket has been predicted to motivate black voters .
At the same time , GOP strategists are concerned Loeffler 's backing of President Trump 's election challenges will demotivate Republican voters by sowing distrust of the electoral process .

Democrat Raphael Warnock is looking to make history as Georgia's first black senator in his high-stakes special election runoff against Republican millionaire businesswoman Kelly Loeffler.
The contest between political novices Warnock, 51, and Loeffler, 50, on Jan. 5 for the remaining two years of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson's term will determine Senate control in the next Congress.
And with more than $500 million to be funneled into Georgia ahead of their matchup and a twin runoff between Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democratic filmmaker Jon Ossoff, both Loeffler and Warnock are under immense scrutiny.
Warnock, a preacher, emerged relatively unscathed from the Nov. 3 election after Loeffler, who's trying to become Georgia's first elected woman senator, became locked in a primary-like dynamic with Republican Rep. Doug Collins, the two competing over GOP voters amid a crowded 21-candidate field.
But now, it's Warnock's turn to stand under the political spotlight.
Warnock, the 11th of a dozen children born to two Savannah pastors, was raised in public housing. His father was a veteran and small businessman, facts weaved into his stump speech.
After graduating from celebrated historically black Morehouse College and preaching in New York and Baltimore, he became senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s former pulpit, in 2005.
Although he was lauded in 2015 for leading a sit-in pushing Georgia lawmakers to expand Medicaid, Warnock's 15 years of sermons are hurting him this cycle.
In some of those sermons, Warnock's criticized police officers and Israel yet expressed sympathy for Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro and Marxism. Warnock argues clips of him making claims, such as that it was impossible to "serve God and the military," have been taken out of context.
Warnock was also scrutinized over allegations that he obstructed police during a 2002 physical child abuse investigation at a Maryland church-run camp. The charges were dropped after it became clear he wanted an adult present while the child suspect was being questioned.
Warnock's associations, too, have been damaging. He was pressed on 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams' refusal to concede during a debate this month after the pair teamed up on the New Georgia Project, a voting rights organization. He's routinely had to defend his support of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former President Barack Obama's erstwhile pastor, as well.
Warnock, a father of two, has been juggling the campaign with finalizing his divorce in November. Ouleye Ndoye, his wife of three years, accused him in March of driving over her foot with his Tesla after an argument about whether their children should apply for passports. Warnock disputes the police report, and medics didn't treat Ndoye for any serious injuries.
The Warnock-Loeffler race will hinge on turnout. Although Republicans have traditionally outperformed Democrats in Georgia's runoff history, Warnock's presence on the ticket has been predicted to motivate black voters. At the same time, GOP strategists are concerned Loeffler's backing of President Trump's election challenges will demotivate Republican voters by sowing distrust of the electoral process.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--The Electoral College was a stroke of genius

On Monday , the Electoral College convened to validate the election of Joe Biden .
He won the vote of the electors by a vote of 306-232 .
Put aside for a moment all of the irregularities and the investigation of alleged voter fraud .
Of all the masterful handiwork of our Founding Fathers in crafting our Constitution , one of the wisest decisions was creating the Electoral College .
The Constitutional Convention in 1787 held in Independence Hall in Philadelphia brought together the greatest minds and most significant advocates of human liberty ever assembled at any time at any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The older I get , the more I marvel at the ingeniousness of the likes of James Madison , Alexander Hamilton , Benjamin Franklin , George Mason , and so many other statesmen in devising this system for electing the president of the United States .
This year 's election proved the brilliance of the Electoral College .
Some 150 million people voted .
Biden won the popular vote by several million votes .
But the actual election was still one of the closest in history .
A swing in states such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maine , Nebraska , Nevada , New Hampshire of 100,000 or so votes ( out of 150 million cast ) would have swung the election to Trump .
That 's less than 0.01 % of the vote count .
The decision of every voter in these states figured decisively in determining the outcome .
Would anyone care about the votes in Nebraska or Nevada if this were a national popular vote ?
The election might as well , under those circumstances , get held in about five states : California , Texas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Pennsylvania .
The vote outcome in all of the other states would be all but irrelevant .
The founders designed the Electoral College to put the power of the election in the states .
Young people and foreigners do n't understand our voting system because they do n't know how our nation was founded .
America is a federalist system where the federal government 's powers derive from the states , not the other way around .
We are not a democracy .
This is not majority rule .
We are a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the united people of America , and we are the United States of America .
The founders placed the power to elect the president in the states , with large states based on population receiving more votes but small states having the power to protect their local interests , as we discovered again this year .
Does anyone think that the 40 million people in California think much about Nebraska farmers ' welfare or the fishermen in Maine ?
One central theme of our Constitution is to protect the interests and inalienable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be outvoted .
The Electoral College helps achieve this .
The Electoral College is under assault from those who want a national winner-take-all election system called the National Popular Vote .
It is a tremendously awful and un-American endeavor to pack all of the power in the big states that already command massive authority in our national government .
The votes in Rhode Island , Alabama , Alaska , Vermont , and Wyoming will never matter again .
Just as a matter of practicality : In this day and age with all sorts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities — I 'm from Chicago , so believe me , I know a lot about the art of stealing elections — can you imagine how much voter fraud would go on if it was just a matter of which candidate got the most votes regardless of where the votes originated ?
No other nation votes as we do for president .
The Electoral College is a uniquely American system , where every voter in even the smallest states matters .
Let 's keep it that way .

On Monday, the Electoral College convened to validate the election of Joe Biden. He won the vote of the electors by a vote of 306-232. Put aside for a moment all of the irregularities and the investigation of alleged voter fraud. Of all the masterful handiwork of our Founding Fathers in crafting our Constitution, one of the wisest decisions was creating the Electoral College.
The Constitutional Convention in 1787 held in Independence Hall in Philadelphia brought together the greatest minds and most significant advocates of human liberty ever assembled at any time at any place in the history of the world. The older I get, the more I marvel at the ingeniousness of the likes of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin, George Mason, and so many other statesmen in devising this system for electing the president of the United States.
This year's election proved the brilliance of the Electoral College. Some 150 million people voted. Biden won the popular vote by several million votes. But the actual election was still one of the closest in history. A swing in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire of 100,000 or so votes (out of 150 million cast) would have swung the election to Trump. That's less than 0.01% of the vote count. The decision of every voter in these states figured decisively in determining the outcome.
Would anyone care about the votes in Nebraska or Nevada if this were a national popular vote? The election might as well, under those circumstances, get held in about five states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The vote outcome in all of the other states would be all but irrelevant. The founders designed the Electoral College to put the power of the election in the states.
Young people and foreigners don't understand our voting system because they don't know how our nation was founded.
America is a federalist system where the federal government's powers derive from the states, not the other way around. We are not a democracy. This is not majority rule. We are a representative form of government. We are not the united people of America, and we are the United States of America. The founders placed the power to elect the president in the states, with large states based on population receiving more votes but small states having the power to protect their local interests, as we discovered again this year. Does anyone think that the 40 million people in California think much about Nebraska farmers' welfare or the fishermen in Maine?
One central theme of our Constitution is to protect the interests and inalienable rights of minorities — those who might be outvoted. The Electoral College helps achieve this.
The Electoral College is under assault from those who want a national winner-take-all election system called the National Popular Vote. It is a tremendously awful and un-American endeavor to pack all of the power in the big states that already command massive authority in our national government. The votes in Rhode Island, Alabama, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming will never matter again.
Just as a matter of practicality: In this day and age with all sorts of allegations of fraudulent voting in big cities — I'm from Chicago, so believe me, I know a lot about the art of stealing elections — can you imagine how much voter fraud would go on if it was just a matter of which candidate got the most votes regardless of where the votes originated?
No other nation votes as we do for president. The Electoral College is a uniquely American system, where every voter in even the smallest states matters. Let's keep it that way.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Newsom recall organizers now have 820K signatures fueled by outrage over restaurant debacle

The effort to recall Gov .
Gavin Newsom has garnered more than half the needed signatures to get on the ballot following the Democratic governor 's controversial dinner at a swanky French restaurant .
“ 820,000 people have weighed in on this already , ” Orrin Heatlie , who introduced the effort , said .
“ There ’ s going to be another 820,000 people plus in the next couple of months.
” Though recall efforts often fizzle , recall organizers have until mid-March to reach the 1.5 million signature threshold needed to get on the ballot .
California has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in its history , when voters replaced Democratic Gov .
Gray Davis with Republican Gov .
Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 over mismanagement of California finances .
Californians and people across the country voiced their outrage with Newsom last month after photos of him in the French Laundry restaurant , where meals cost $ 350 a person ( according to a menu from 2018 ) , circulated showing him socializing with a large group while not wearing a mask .
He was characterized as a hypocrite for the move , which organizers of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It has resonated .
It ’ s about the arrogance of power , ” Randy Economy , a senior adviser to the recall effort , said of Newsom ’ s controversial dinner last month .
Newsom apologized for the dinner , but he has been hit with additional criticisms since .
Last month , for example , he faced outrage over a massive scam where death row inmates , and others received state unemployment benefits to the tune of up to $ 2 billion , which hearkens back to Gray 's 2003 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Newsom 's 2018 Republican gubernatorial opponent to call on him to resign .
`` Too many California families still wait .
But prisoners got $ 140M in unemployment checks .
Newsom issues statement listing failed steps .
But any real action is absent .
After French Laundry fiasco , THIS ?
We ’ re through and he ’ s done # TimeToResign '' John H. Cox said after the scam was revealed .
Newsom has also been slammed by Hollywood stars , and Republican leaders have criticized him for the strict lockdowns that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and churches .
Support for the recall extends beyond Californians , with notable conservatives such as Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee throwing their endorsements behind the effort .
“ The ‘ blue wave ’ that the left-wing media spent months talking about disappeared in California , ” Gingrich told in a statement Friday .
“ This is a direct result of Gavin Newsom ’ s destructive leadership that has crippled small businesses and sent billions of dollars of California COVID-19 jobless benefits to criminals across the nation.
” Newsom ’ s office did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ request for comment .

The effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom has garnered more than half the needed signatures to get on the ballot following the Democratic governor's controversial dinner at a swanky French restaurant.
“820,000 people have weighed in on this already,” Orrin Heatlie, who introduced the effort, said. “There’s going to be another 820,000 people plus in the next couple of months.”
Though recall efforts often fizzle, recall organizers have until mid-March to reach the 1.5 million signature threshold needed to get on the ballot. California has had only one successful gubernatorial recall effort in its history, when voters replaced Democratic Gov. Gray Davis with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 over mismanagement of California finances.
Californians and people across the country voiced their outrage with Newsom last month after photos of him in the French Laundry restaurant, where meals cost $350 a person (according to a menu from 2018), circulated showing him socializing with a large group while not wearing a mask. He was characterized as a hypocrite for the move, which organizers of the recall says has propelled their effort.
EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864 — Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 18, 2020
“It has resonated. It’s about the arrogance of power,” Randy Economy, a senior adviser to the recall effort, said of Newsom’s controversial dinner last month.
Newsom apologized for the dinner, but he has been hit with additional criticisms since.
Last month, for example, he faced outrage over a massive scam where death row inmates, and others received state unemployment benefits to the tune of up to $2 billion, which hearkens back to Gray's 2003 finance mismanagement. The scam even prompted Newsom's 2018 Republican gubernatorial opponent to call on him to resign.
"Too many California families still wait. But prisoners got $140M in unemployment checks. Newsom issues statement listing failed steps. But any real action is absent. After French Laundry fiasco, THIS? We’re through and he’s done #TimeToResign" John H. Cox said after the scam was revealed.
Newsom has also been slammed by Hollywood stars, and Republican leaders have criticized him for the strict lockdowns that have shut down schools, businesses, and churches.
Support for the recall extends beyond Californians, with notable conservatives such as Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee throwing their endorsements behind the effort.
“The ‘blue wave’ that the left-wing media spent months talking about disappeared in California,” Gingrich told Politico in a statement Friday. “This is a direct result of Gavin Newsom’s destructive leadership that has crippled small businesses and sent billions of dollars of California COVID-19 jobless benefits to criminals across the nation.”
Newsom’s office did not immediately return the Washington Examiner's request for comment.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-12-15--Sen. David Perdue: The former businessman-turned-politician looking to Trump to help win his runoff

Sen. David Perdue: The former businessman-turned-politician looking to Trump to help win his runoff race

Georgia Sen. David Perdue is used to taking late-night and early morning phone calls from President Trump .
As one of the president 's closest confidants , the Macon , Georgia , native has weighed in on everything from immigration to the economy .
He 's stood by loyally and defended Trump through six controversies and an impeachment .
Perdue has also voted in lockstep with the president 's agenda 94 % of the time and recently sided with Trump over members of his own party on allegations of election-rigging and voter fraud .
Now , as Perdue faces the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Jan. 5 runoff race against Democratic rival Jon Ossoff , he is turning to his powerful pal to get him over the finish line .
How the election shakes out will determine which party takes control of the U.S. Senate next month .
On Monday , the Perdue campaign released a 30-second ad featuring Trump .
In it , the president claims that `` nobody in Washington '' has advocated more strongly for his `` America first '' policy than Perdue .
`` There 's nobody in Washington that is more respected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , telling his unwavering base in Georgia to `` get out and vote . ''
A week earlier , Trump 's son Donald Trump Jr. also got in on the action and released his video imploring Georgians to cast their ballots for Perdue .
`` The radical Left wants to tear down everything we 've accomplished : defunding the police , eliminating private health insurance , and dismantling the Supreme Court .
On Jan. 5 , the U.S. Senate is on the line , and my father 's accomplishments are on your ballot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' Trump Jr. said .
Perdue 's unconventional coziness with the Trumps , the elder Trump specifically , has been a double-edged sword for the GOP incumbent .
On the one hand , Perdue 's got the support of a very popular president .
On the other , his success is tied to Trump , who has blasted conspiracy theories about the integrity of the state 's election system and accused Georgia Gov .
Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger , both Republicans , of working with Democrats to steal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finds himself on now is a far different place than his humble beginnings as the son of two schoolteachers growing up in the 1960s in Warner Robins , Georgia .
Perdue 's father , David Alfred Perdue Sr. , was elected school superintendent of the Houston County school system and was one of the first superintendents in the state to integrate a school system .
Perdue has credited his parents with teaching him `` the importance of education , hard work , and equality at a young age . ''
After graduating from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enrolled at the Air Force Academy before transferring to Georgia Tech .
Perdue paid for college by working warehouse and construction jobs .
After he graduated the Atlanta college with a degree in industrial engineering , he married a woman named Bonnie Dunn , whom he had met in first grade .
They were wedded in 1972 and have two sons and three grandchildren .
Before he made a splash in politics — Perdue replaced Sen. Saxby Chambliss in 2013 — Perdue , 70 , spent decades in the business world , where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but quickly climbed the corporate ladder at Sarah Lee , Dollar General , and Reebok , where he is credited with rejuvenating its sneaker line .
Things took a turn after he left Reebok in 2002 to head up PillowTex , a North Carolina textile company that had emerged from bankruptcy with massive debt .
Perdue left the company after nine months , walking away with $ 1.7 million in compensation .
The company folded several months after Perdue 's departure , but an internal audit noted that he was a no-show much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that his long absences were `` terrible for morale . ''
Perdue 's political opponents have used his background to sharpen their attacks on him .
Almost all of them , including Ossoff , have recycled a comment he made in 2005 about how he spent `` most of '' his career outsourcing jobs .
There have also been questions about his appointment to the Georgia Ports Authority by his first cousin Sonny Perdue , Trump 's current agriculture secretary and Georgia 's former governor .
During his time in the Senate , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the line between his private financial interests and his work as an elected official .
He has bought and sold shares in companies that the committees he sits on have jurisdiction over .
The Justice Department investigated him for possible insider trading , which Perdue strongly denied .
While prosecutors decided not to bring charges against him , it has n't stopped Democrats from using them to paint Perdue as someone with questionable ethics .
Perdue recently grabbed headlines when he declined to debate Ossoff at a Dec. 6 Atlanta Press Club event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to an empty podium while he answered questions .
The optics alone gave Ossoff more press coverage than money could buy and turned Perdue into a punchline .
His campaign manager , Ben Fry , said Perdue would take his `` message about what 's at stake if Democrats have total control of Congress directly to the people . ''
Perdue , who has pitched himself as `` the original outsider , '' said that if he is reelected , he will continue to roll back `` onerous regulations '' and take action @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' He 's also pledged to cut taxes for small businesses and vowed to fight the `` defund the police '' effort .

Georgia Sen. David Perdue is used to taking late-night and early morning phone calls from President Trump.
As one of the president's closest confidants, the Macon, Georgia, native has weighed in on everything from immigration to the economy. He's stood by loyally and defended Trump through six controversies and an impeachment.
Perdue has also voted in lockstep with the president's agenda 94% of the time and recently sided with Trump over members of his own party on allegations of election-rigging and voter fraud.
Now, as Perdue faces the toughest challenge of his political career in a Jan. 5 runoff race against Democratic rival Jon Ossoff, he is turning to his powerful pal to get him over the finish line.
How the election shakes out will determine which party takes control of the U.S. Senate next month.
On Monday, the Perdue campaign released a 30-second ad featuring Trump. In it, the president claims that "nobody in Washington" has advocated more strongly for his "America first" policy than Perdue.
"There's nobody in Washington that is more respected than David Perdue," Trump added, telling his unwavering base in Georgia to "get out and vote."
A week earlier, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. also got in on the action and released his video imploring Georgians to cast their ballots for Perdue.
"The radical Left wants to tear down everything we've accomplished: defunding the police, eliminating private health insurance, and dismantling the Supreme Court. On Jan. 5, the U.S. Senate is on the line, and my father's accomplishments are on your ballot. Don't let them take Georgia," Trump Jr. said.
Perdue's unconventional coziness with the Trumps, the elder Trump specifically, has been a double-edged sword for the GOP incumbent.
On the one hand, Perdue's got the support of a very popular president. On the other, his success is tied to Trump, who has blasted conspiracy theories about the integrity of the state's election system and accused Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, of working with Democrats to steal the election.
The political tightrope Perdue finds himself on now is a far different place than his humble beginnings as the son of two schoolteachers growing up in the 1960s in Warner Robins, Georgia.
Perdue's father, David Alfred Perdue Sr., was elected school superintendent of the Houston County school system and was one of the first superintendents in the state to integrate a school system.
Perdue has credited his parents with teaching him "the importance of education, hard work, and equality at a young age."
After graduating from Northside High School in 1968, Perdue enrolled at the Air Force Academy before transferring to Georgia Tech. Perdue paid for college by working warehouse and construction jobs.
After he graduated the Atlanta college with a degree in industrial engineering, he married a woman named Bonnie Dunn, whom he had met in first grade. They were wedded in 1972 and have two sons and three grandchildren.
Before he made a splash in politics — Perdue replaced Sen. Saxby Chambliss in 2013 — Perdue, 70, spent decades in the business world, where he started off as a management consultant but quickly climbed the corporate ladder at Sarah Lee, Dollar General, and Reebok, where he is credited with rejuvenating its sneaker line.
Things took a turn after he left Reebok in 2002 to head up PillowTex, a North Carolina textile company that had emerged from bankruptcy with massive debt. Perdue left the company after nine months, walking away with $1.7 million in compensation. The company folded several months after Perdue's departure, but an internal audit noted that he was a no-show much of the time he was there and that his long absences were "terrible for morale."
Perdue's political opponents have used his background to sharpen their attacks on him.
Almost all of them, including Ossoff, have recycled a comment he made in 2005 about how he spent "most of" his career outsourcing jobs.
There have also been questions about his appointment to the Georgia Ports Authority by his first cousin Sonny Perdue, Trump's current agriculture secretary and Georgia's former governor.
During his time in the Senate, Perdue has faced multiple accusations of blurring the line between his private financial interests and his work as an elected official. He has bought and sold shares in companies that the committees he sits on have jurisdiction over. The Justice Department investigated him for possible insider trading, which Perdue strongly denied.
While prosecutors decided not to bring charges against him, it hasn't stopped Democrats from using them to paint Perdue as someone with questionable ethics.
Perdue recently grabbed headlines when he declined to debate Ossoff at a Dec. 6 Atlanta Press Club event. Ossoff showed up and stood next to an empty podium while he answered questions. The optics alone gave Ossoff more press coverage than money could buy and turned Perdue into a punchline.
His campaign manager, Ben Fry, said Perdue would take his "message about what's at stake if Democrats have total control of Congress directly to the people."
Perdue, who has pitched himself as "the original outsider," said that if he is reelected, he will continue to roll back "onerous regulations" and take action to "unleash our energy potential." He's also pledged to cut taxes for small businesses and vowed to fight the "defund the police" effort.