This is absolutely bizarre.
Axio’s Jonathan Swan reports that Mike Pompeo announced that he will hold a press conference in which Pompeo will reveal national security concerns he has regarding Trump’s pick for the Republican nomination for the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate seat, Mehmet Oz, or “Dr. Oz.”
Pompeo is holding a press call on “national security concerns†about Trump’s endorsed candidate in Pa. — Dr Oz. pic.twitter.com/WeqfusvjnA
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) May 6, 2022
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Pompeo’s concerns are based upon “Mehmet Oz’s close ties to the Turkish government and military.” Oz was born in Ohio to first-generation Turkish immigrants and served two years in the Turkish military. None of the above would seem disqualifying and was open knowledge. Indeed, with nothing more, such an allegation is fundamentally un-American, akin to Trump referencing a court case in front of a “Mexican judge.”
But that is only part of the story. Oz is Trump’s pick, Pompeo seems to want to cut the legs out from under Oz and thus Trump.
This is not how things are done in MAGA world, obviously. It leaves one desperately looking for an explanation that doesn’t include the fact that Mike Pompeo is severing ties with any Trump partnership, while also burning his MAGA card. One is near forced to conclude that Pompeo has near-determined that he will run for president in 2024, even if Trump runs.
It follows that if Pompeo has information that would severely damage Oz as a candidate, it would be a show of strength on Pompeo’s part, that his influence can match or defeat Trump. If the concerns were strong enough, it’s possible Pompeo could make Trump look like an irresponsible fool.
It would not be the first time.
There is also the fact that Pompeo chose a news conference to make the revelations. Pompeo must want the video out there. It would be far easier to put his thoughts on paper and officially release a statement expressing what he knows and why he believes it’s disqualifying.
Interesting. Trump always had a strangely subservient relationship with Turkey’s president Recep Erdogan. Pompeo was head of the CIA before becoming the Secretary of State. He could be in a position to “know things.”
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact with any concerns.
