A former CIA whistleblower who allegedly exposed the “deep state” and used to work as a fellow at the Heritage Foundation told Iran’s state-run Press TV Tuesday that the State Department will become “very reckless” and “violent” as a result of President Donald Trump’s decision to appoint CIA Director Mike Pompeo as America’s new secretary of state.
“The State Department requires a very erudite, soft-spoken, very wise presence, a very charismatic presence. You have to have the human magnetism and charisma to engage in effective diplomacy and State Department craft … but Mike Pompeo has absolutely no charisma, no honesty, no character,” Scott Bennett told Press TV.
Bennett reportedly went on to suggest the commander in chief needs to “re-educate” himself on the limitations of his power and suggested that the United States could wind up in a stalemate between diplomacy and military operations if Trump continues to choose “war hawks” to serve in his administration.
After months of back-and-forth media reports about Rex Tillerson’s potential firing, Trump pulled the trigger on his decision to replace the secretary of state over a series of issues that seemed to divide them. Trump made the announcement over Twitter:
Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service! Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2018
One of the main issues that divided the men was the nuclear Iran deal, which Tillerson admitted to disagreeing with the commander-in-chief over in August.
After he fired the secretary of state, Trump cited the Iran deal as one of the issues he was never able to resolve with Tillerson, saying, “When you look at the Iran deal: I think it’s terrible, I guess he thinks it was OK.” Trump added, “I wanted to break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently. So we were not thinking the same.” He also said his new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo — who must be confirmed — has a more “similar thought process” to him on the issue.
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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