Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo melted down on and off tape at an NPR reporter who dared to ask him about Ukraine and the State Department's treatment of Marie Yovanovich. It was epic in terms of self-ownage, when Pompeo challenged her to find Ukraine on a map and she did, because she's not a freaking moron.
There are a number of ways to read this incident.
First, Pompeo was a rising star in Republican hard right circles. Now he will be irrevocably tied to his sycophancy to Trump. As more and more evidence emerges showing Trump's disregard for legal and constitutional norms, Pompeo and his cohort must be feeling the stress. Blowing up at a reporter asking a completely unsurprising question suggests Pompeo is cracking.
Second, angrily yelling and borderline threatening a female reporter seems to check off a lot of boxes for the Trumpist Right. The bullying, the disdain for the press, the disdain for women...It's a trifecta. Pompeo's behavior is very on brand.
Third, Pompeo being surprised that an NPR foreign policy reporter could find Ukraine on a map suggests that he's currently surrounded by morons. How can you think that finding Ukraine on a map would be a challenge for someone who's a foreign affairs correspondent? It's a large country that has been in the news. Maybe you've heard of it? Sure, some dimwit interviewed by a street reporter for laughs on Jimmy Kimmel can't find it, but Mary Louise Kelly is not a dimwit off the street.
The most likely scenario is just that Pompeo is seeing his career circle the bowl, as he's already passed up a Senate run in Kansas. He is lashing out - as Trump is lashing out - in any and all directions. The pressure is working.
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