A major Republican presidential contender has called it quits before officially joining the race, at least for 2024.
Fox News reports that former congressman, CIA director, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not compete for the GOP nomination.
“I have made a decision,” he told Fox News’ “Special Report.”
“[We] have prayerfully come to the conclusion we are not going to join the race in 2024. While we care deeply about America and the issues I’ve been talking about for the past year-and-half – and frankly for decades – matter an awful lot, this isn’t our moment,” Pompeo added.
He was then asked if the presence of former President Donald Trump in the race was a deciding factor.
“No, not at all. This is a deeply personal decision for Susan and me and our son, Nick and his wife, Rachel,” he said. “It wasn’t about what this would look like. And frankly, this race, I hope, isn’t about people. I hope it’s about these ideas.”
Pompeo stressed the need for voters to prioritize policies over personalities when selecting their preferred candidates. He expressed his concern over the weakening of the United States’ military strength and the government’s spending habits, noting that it spends $2 trillion more than it generates in revenue.
“These are things that I care about. We were thinking about, can we impact them? Is this the right time for us to go seek the presidency, to go try and work on this? And we just simply came to the conclusion this wasn’t this wasn’t the moment for us,” he said.
He also would not give an endorsement to any of the declared or other potential candidates, including his former boss.
“When I figure out who that person is, I feel like I’ve always done in my life, I’ll get behind them and do everything I can to help them,” he said.
However, he did seem to take a swipe at Trump when he claimed that Americans are “thirsting for people making arguments, not just tweets.”
“I think they’re looking for someone who can clearly articulate their vision for what parents ought to be doing to help their kids be successful in schools and how we take back crime from our streets and cities,” Pompeo said.
“I don’t know if that will end up being President Trump that the American people choose or if that is who our party will choose to be its nominee. But I’m hopeful that it will be those debates about real arguments, things that really matter,” he said. “And if that happens, America will be in a pretty damn good place,” he added.