Pompeo swipes at Trump after 2024 announcement, calls for leaders 'not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood'
Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state under Trump, implicitly criticized his one-time boss.
He called for "leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood."
Trump proclaimed himself to be a "victim" during his 2024 campaign announcement Tuesday night.
Former President Donald Trump, fresh off of announcing a 2024 presidential campaign on Tuesday night, is already facing indirect criticism from a one-time political ally and potential 2024 rival.
"We need more seriousness, less noise, and leaders who are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood," Pompeo wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
—Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) November 16, 2022
During his announcement at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump proclaimed himself to be a victim.
"I'm a victim," Trump told the crowd of loyalists after airing grievances about the Department of Justice, which is currently investigating him both for his possession of classified documents and the January 6 attack on the Capitol. "I will tell you, I'm a victim. Think of it."
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 16, 2022
Pompeo, who served as both CIA Director and secretary of state under Trump, is said to be mulling his own presidential campaign.
On Tuesday, he told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that Trump's announcement would have no bearing on his own.
"We're trying to think our way through, figuring out what's next for us," said Pompeo. "What happens today or tomorrow, what some other person decides, won't have any impact on that."
Insider reported on Monday that Pompeo is running digital ads through his political action committee in key presidential primary states, including Iowa, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. In 2021, he began making trips to Iowa and New Hampshire.
Following the events of January 6, in which Trump stoked a mob to disrupt the counting of Electoral College votes in an effort to overturn the 2020 election, Pompeo was reportedly among the cabinet officials who contemplated removing the former president via the 25th amendment.
Read the original article on Business Insider
