Meet Mike Pompeo

I am still catching my breath over the news that Rex Tillerson was fired and CIA Director Mike Pompeo has been nominated as his replacement as Secretary of State. That happened, of course, just days after a South Korean diplomat announced a summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, scheduled for May.  

I was just getting my head around that news and its broader implications when, of course, the firing-by-tweet occurred.    Fortunately for all of us, I had on my schedule an interview with Uri Friedman, a staff writer at the Atlantic who covers global affairs and US foreign policy. He has written extensively about US diplomacy and North Korea and in this episode he and I just talk through this news.   I think you will find this conversation useful. I know I did. I learned some interesting things about Pompeo's background and also the implications of having a Secretary of State who, unlike Rex Tillerson, is personally close and more on the same page as the President.    Uri recently published an article on Pompeo and North Korea, which we reference in this conversation and I'll post a link to that on the website.    Remember to leave a review of the podcast, my people! I'll mail you a sticker in return!