Trump jokes Pompeo has ‘gotten more publicity than me’
President Trump on Monday joked that new Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is “getting more publicity than me.”
The president singled out Pompeo during a Rose Garden ceremony honoring the football team for the U.S. Military Academy, the top diplomat’s alma mater.
“A man that’s gotten more publicity than me lately, our new secretary of State, first in his class at West Point … Mike Pompeo,” Trump said.
Pompeo stood and waved to the crowd as Trump continued to praise him.
“He’s been busy,” the president said. “He’s been very busy. He’s been a busy guy. How’s everything going? Good? I think better than people even understand. Good job, Mike.”
Pompeo kicked off his tenure as secretary of State with a trip to Brussels to meet with NATO allies, followed by a tour of the Middle East.
The former CIA director also appeared on the Sunday political talk shows to tout Trump’s efforts to broker a deal with North Korea, where Pompeo made a secret trip earlier this year to meet with leader Kim Jong Un.
Pompeo took over for Rex Tillerson, with whom Trump frequently clashed during his first year in office. The former Kansas lawmaker is said to have a much closer relationship with Trump.
But the president likes to keep members of his team off-balance when he feels they are receiving outsized attention.
Trump joked earlier this month that national security adviser John Bolton was receiving “all the credit” for a missile strike on Syria.
“Are you giving him all the credit? Uh oh, you know that means the end of his job,” Trump said.
Two days after taking office, Trump greeted then-FBI Director James Comey at a White House reception by saying “he’s become more famous than me.”
The president later fired Comey in a move that sent shockwaves throughout Washington.
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