Mike Pompeo tears into Biden for 'reckless' Putin nuclear comments

2022-10-09

Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tears into Biden for ‘reckless’ nuclear armageddon comments as the president’s allies say he’s ‘right to raise the risk’ of a fight with Putin

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Biden’s remark that the world could face nuclear ‘armageddon’ put Americans’ lives at risk
Meanwhile Biden ally Senator Chris Murphy vouched for the president
‘I think Joe Biden is right to get this country ready for the fact that you are dealing with a very dangerous human being in Russia,’ Murphy said
National Security Council official John Kirby also said Biden was just impressing that ‘the stakes are high right now’ between Russia and Ukraine
Biden held a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday about Ukraine

Mike Pompeo blasted President Joe Biden’s warning of possible nuclear armageddon as ‘reckless’ on Sunday.

Appearing on Fox News Sunday, the former Secretary of State under Donald Trump went a step further and said the deteriorating state of affairs in Eastern Europe represented a ‘failure’ of the Democrat’s foreign policy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has put the globe on edge with his increasingly hostile suggestions that Moscow could be ready to use nuclear force as its invasion of Ukraine continues to face historic setbacks.

Biden set off shockwaves on Thursday with his comments to donors about how severe he believes the current situation between Russia and Ukraine is.

‘We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,’ the president said.

It prompted multiple Biden administration officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken to quickly clarify that there was no change in US assessments on Russia’s readiness to use nuclear weapons.

Biden’s critics, like Pompeo, have attacked the president for inflaming the already-tense situation.

But allies of the president’s who also appeared on the Sunday news programs defended him by saying he was simply raising alarms about potential future problems.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Biden’s ‘armageddon’ comments put Americans’ lives at risk

‘I think the president is right to raise the risk of nuclear conflict because Vladimir Putin is increasingly getting pushed into a corner,’ Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union.

‘This is a dangerous man, and the United States needs to be ready for Putin to use a tactical nuclear weapon.’

Murphy quickly added that he saw ‘no sign that he’s going to do that imminently’ but added, ‘I think Joe Biden is right to get this country ready for the fact that you are dealing with a very dangerous human being in Russia.’

The National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby reaffirmed to ABC News’ This Week that the US saw no change in the Kremlin’s nuclear posture but likewise defended Biden’s seemingly off-the-cuff remark.

‘His comments were not based on new or fresh intelligence or new indications that Mr. Putin has made a decision to use nuclear weapons and, quite frankly, we don’t have indication that he has made that kind of decision,’ Kirby said.

‘What the president was reflecting was that the stakes are high right now given what’s going on on the battlefield in Ukraine and given the very irresponsible and reckless comments made by Vladimir Putin in just the last few days.’

Meanwhile an ally of the president’s, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said ‘I think the president is right to raise the risk of nuclear conflict’

Pompeo, however, said Biden’s rhetoric put Americans’ own lives ‘at risk.’

‘Those comments were reckless,’ the former chief US diplomat said.

‘I think that, even more importantly, they demonstrate maybe one of the greatest foreign policy failures of the last decades, which was the failure to deter Vladimir Putin in the same way that the Trump administration did for four years.’

He also blasted Biden for the casual setting in which the president levied the dramatic warning.

‘When you hear a president talking about armageddon at random- as a random thought, just using [it] at a fundraiser- that is a terrible risk to the American people,’ Pompeo said.

‘If he truly believes that, he ought to be out talking to us in a serious way.’

Biden spent most of the weekend at his home in Wilmington, where he spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday about the continuing situation in Ukraine.

‘The leaders reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory, as well as their ongoing commitment to hold Russia accountable for its brutal actions and provide security and economic assistance to Ukraine,’ the White House said in a readout after their call.

‘The leaders also discussed recent developments in global energy markets and the importance of securing sustainable and affordable energy supplies. In addition, they talked about efforts to promote regional stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans.’

It comes after a portion of the bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula collapsed in the most recent high-profile setback faced by the Russians in their invasion of Ukraine.

A nighttime explosion which also hit a fuel train is responsible for the blast. Three people are reportedly dead.

Russia, which has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the explosion, fired rockets overnight Sunday that hit apartment buildings in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Ukrainian officials said at least 17 people were killed.

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