#Secretary of State Mike Pompeo endorses Trump on global stage at RNC 2020

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers his pre-recorded RNC speech from Jerusalem.
AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo endorsed President Trump as the candidate to maintain America’s strength on the global stage in remarks aired Tuesday night at the 2020 Republican National Convention.

“The primary Constitutional function of the national government is ensuring that your family and mine are safe and enjoy the freedom to live, to work, to learn and to worship as they choose,” said Pompeo, in remarks pre-taped at an undisclosed location in Jerusalem.

“Delivering on this duty to keep us safe and our freedoms intact, this president has led bold initiatives in nearly every corner of the world,” he said.

Pompeo specifically touted Trump’s protecting American interests by standing up to China, North Korea and Iran, as well as his success in bringing home citizens held hostage overseas.

But he also talked up alliances Trump has cultured around the globe, as with Israel.

“The president moved the US embassy to this very city of God, Jerusalem, the rightful capital of the Jewish homeland,” he said. “Just two weeks ago, the president brokered a historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

“This is a deal that our grandchildren will read about in their history books.”

The California-born diplomat, 56, taped his speech in Jerusalem on Sunday while on official State Department business in the Middle East, where the US is working to further Arab-Israeli relations.

The RNC speech immediately raised ethical concerns with Pompeo, now the first secretary of state in 75 years to address a national party convention, and the fact it happened on a diplomatic mission sparked questions about whether taxpayers would have to foot the bill.

The Hatch Act forbids any federal government employee from engaging in partisan political activities when they are on duty, in uniform or on federal property.

Pompeo, a former CIA director and Kansas congressman who was tapped to become secretary in March 2018, is frequently mentioned as someone who harbors 2024 presidential ambitions of his own.

A State Department spokesperson said that Pompeo would be speaking in a personal capacity and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the GOP would be picking up the tab for all convention events.

Israel is an important piece of Trump’s first term agenda. In 2018, he moved the US Embassy to the fiercely contested city of Jerusalem and recognized it as Israel’s capital.

Last week, the Trump administration also revealed it had orchestrated a historic peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates in which the two countries agreed to normalize relations.