Mike Pompeo—who has served as a soldier, House Representative, Secretary of State, and CIA director—issued a statement Friday that he is not going to run in the race to become president in 2024. The decision puts to rest discussions on whether he’d run against his former boss, Donald Trump.
Pompeo announced the decision on Twitter:
[My wife] Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election.
Susan and I have concluded, after much consideration and prayer, that I will not present myself as a candidate to become President of the United States in the 2024 election. pic.twitter.com/hxujBzGgkI
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) April 14, 2023
He also posted a video of himself further detailing his considerations:
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) April 14, 2023
He explained in his statement that the decision was a personal one:
It is simplest and most accurate, to say that this decision is personal. The time is not right for me and my family. At each stage of my public service—as a soldier, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as your Secretary of State—I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to advance America in a way that fit the time and the moment. This is not that time or the moment for me to seek elected office again.
He added in his video that he will continue to fight for conservative causes:
Thank you to everyone whose support and hard work gave me the time and space to seriously consider running for president, and while I’ll not be running for President in 2024, Susan and my commitment to the conservative cause is far from over. This movement, these ideas, they are worthy and we intend to stay in it until victory is had. While we’ll continue to strongly advocate for the issues that I’ve fought over the past decade, our primary roles will be a bit different. We’ll be parents, and Sunday school teachers, community and business leaders.
Pompeo also teased that this might not be the last we see of him in politics, pointing out that he’s only 59 years old and that presidential leadership would be needed in the future. Hint, hint.
“To those of you this announcement disappoints, my apologies,” he said. “And to those of you this thrills, know that I’m 59 years-old. There remains many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary.”
A source told NBC News that the decision is partly due to money concerns as well as “lane” issues:
“Money is definitely an issue, and it seems like his announcement window passed,” the person said. “And what’s his lane? Foreign policy — but Nikki Haley has had a great rollout and is already harnessing that lane and has the donors lined up.”
Left unsaid is that former President Donald Trump likely also played a factor in his thinking. Pompeo has to know that he would have been a heavy underdog against his former boss and that a race would probably get nasty.
I’m sure we’ll hear from Pompeo again, and it will be interesting to see where his story goes from here.
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