Pompeo slams Biden address as ‘one of the most divisive presidential speeches in American history’
By Caroline Vakil, The Hill
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday slammed a speech that President Biden gave earlier this month in which he blasted former President Trump and what he called “MAGA Republicans,” saying that the sitting president’s address was “one of the most divisive presidential speeches in American history.”
“With Independence Hall and American uniformed servicemen behind him and the presidential seal in front of him, he had a unique opportunity to unite America by reminding us of the strength, resolve and unity that lives in the spirit of 9/11,” Pompeo, who has been floated as a possible 2024 presidential candidate, said during a “Politics and Eggs” event in New Hampshire.
“Instead, he desecrated those symbols by giving one of the most divisive presidential speeches in American history. Worse, he used two Marines as window dressing while he attacked half of our nation as enemies.”
The former secretary of State argued that the president had “smeared half the country” and claimed that the country needed a new president if Biden couldn’t decipher between Republicans, terrorists and the Chinese Communist Party.
“Mr. President: I do not know your heart. But I do know that treating your countrymen like enemies is a rejection of the principles that make America great,” he said. “And while none of us know the president’s heart, we do know his ideology. Because we see the impact every day. I can sum up the president’s principles in three words. Woke, weak and waffling.”
Pompeo’s speech comes several weeks after Biden delivered the speech in Philadelphia, in which he claimed that MAGA Republicans and Trump represented a threat to the country. The speech was condemned by members of the GOP who have called Biden “divider-in-chief.”
Pompeo’s participation in the New Hampshire event, which is a collaboration between the New England Council and New Hampshire Institute of Politics and is considered a stop for those considering a White House bid to expand their reach in the state, is likely to stir more 2024 speculation.
Former Vice President Mike Pence attended an event from the series last month — another Republican that is speculated to have presidential ambitions.