President Donald Trump on Friday derided the State Department as the “Deep State Department” while introducing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a press conference discussing the coronavirus.
“Secretary of State Pompeo is extremely busy so if you have any question for him right now, could you do that?” Trump said at the White House during the briefing, which aired on C-SPAN. “Because you know what I’d like to do, I’d like for him to go back to the State Department, or as they call it, the Deep State Department. You know, Mike.”
Trump’s comment appeared to cause Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to put his head in his hands. Pompeo appeared to smile, but did not comment.
A reporter later asked Pompeo, “Was it appropriate for the president to call your department the ‘Deep State Department’ at a time when thousands of diplomats are working very hard around the world to combat this pandemic?”
The secretary said, “I’ve worked with the president for three years now. I know how much he values the people that work on my team. I know when I was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency how much he valued the work we did; I know that he watches our team… all the teams that are working to push back against this virus to keep America safe. I know how much he values them.”
Trump described this as a “good answer.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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