Mike Pompeo has forged a uniquely tight bond with President Trump during his time as CIA director and then as secretary of state, deploying a direct style appreciated by Trump and seeking to understand the president’s wishes rather than stampede Trump with his own agenda.
What’s more, the two share similar instincts on issues, such as the danger posed by Iran and the futility of the nuclear deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama. Trump alluded to their common outlook when he moved Pompeo from Langley to Foggy Bottom last year.
“Tremendous energy, tremendous intellect, we’re always on the same wavelength,” Trump said. “The relationship has been very good, and that’s what I need as secretary of state.”
Trump has met with Pompeo more than 20 times in the past six months, according to the president’s official schedule.
In the same time span, he met with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen three times each, according to Trump’s schedule. He’s met with the rest of his secretaries only once or twice in the past six months — or not at all.
The count does not include off-the-books meetings between the president and his secretaries. But it does suggest a striking contrast with other top Cabinet officials and a comparatively close relationship between him and Pompeo that few of Trump’s other top advisors, whether in the Cabinet or the White House, share.
“Pompeo checks all the blocks,” said Heritage Foundation foreign policy expert James Carafano. “He knows how to talk to Trump. And I think that’s really key.”
Pompeo has worked for Trump since the beginning of his presidency, a rare feat in an administration known for its high employee turnover. Along the way, he’s become an expert at communicating with the president and staying on his good side. As CIA director, Pompeo gave Trump his daily intelligence briefings. Now, with Pompeo as secretary of state, the two talk nearly every day.
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“Trump is not a conventional statesman and he’s very plainspoken. With Trump, if you cannot take an idea and put it in plainspoken language, I think the president gets suspicious,” Carafano said.
Chuck Knapp, former deputy chief of staff to Pompeo when he was a U.S. representative for Kansas, also pointed to the secretary’s ability to be direct.
“He’s a realist, and he will say what needs to be said and will do what needs to be done. He doesn’t sugarcoat things,” Knapp said, adding that Pompeo is able to be tactful and diplomatic, but does it in a “straightforward manner.”
In a testament to both his bluntness and his apparent feeling of job security, Pompeo recently cracked a joke about his potential firing, which he does not see happening anytime soon. “I’m going to be here until he tweets me out of office. Which I’m not counting on, at least today,” he said in March. His predecessor, Rex Tillerson, was fired via tweet, and several other White House officials have been pushed out of the administration in recent months, including Nielsen.
Prior to his work in the Trump administration, Pompeo served as U.S. representative for Kansas’s 4th Congressional District. He also founded and served as the CEO of an aircraft machinery manufacturing company, attended West Point and Harvard Law School, and served in the army during the Cold War. Mark Chenoweth, his former chief of staff, attributed Pompeo’s success in part to his intelligence.
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“Nearly every story written about Mike Pompeo fails to mention how damn smart he really is,” Chenoweth said.
As secretary of state, Pompeo has proven himself valuable to Trump by prioritizing and “consistently” delivering on the president’s policy goals, according to Carafano, such as by pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Forces Treaty, “re-engaging” with Brazil, and working on negotiations with North Korea.
“Pompeo pays attention to what is important to Trump — the big issues, China, Russia, Israel, Iran, crushing the caliphate,” Carafano said. “And I also think there’s a loyalty there — not blind, but I think Pompeo understands what the president’s trying to do. He looks past the rhetoric and understands that the president is trying to put America first, and I think the president appreciates that.”
Pompeo’s loyalty to Trump has drawn criticism from some. As CIA director, Pompeo was reportedly watched by members of his own agency for what officials termed his “impulse to be political.” He also faced criticism as secretary of state for avoiding commenting on Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s responsibility for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, following Trump’s decision to stand by the crown prince.
But intense loyalty is a trait prized by Trump. And, as Carafano noted, Pompeo does not put his own views above those of the president, an important quality that has allowed Pompeo to stay in the administration while others who have tried to micromanage or assert their own agendas have been pushed out.
“He’s there to advise the president, argue the facts, and then he goes and executes,” Carafano said. “He respects the president as commander in chief.”
