Pompeo on Trump's Potential 2024 Run: 'I Won't Be Affected'

In response to former President Trump's official launch of his bid for the presidency, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated that he will not be swayed by Trump's official announcement.

Photo By Gage Skidmore

Pompeo, who served in the Trump administration, has been more open about his interest in running for president in 2024 than most other Republicans who have been speculated as prospective candidates.

Pompeo told Hewitt that he is still unsure whether to make bid for the presidential race, noting, “But what happens today or tomorrow, what some other person decides won’t have any impact on that.”

Referring to Trump’s official launch of his 2024 bid, Pompeo opined that his former boss will “have to explain why he thinks he should be that next president.”

“We need more seriousness,” Pompeo said. “We need less noise. We need steady hands. We need leaders that are looking forward, not staring in the rearview mirror claiming victimhood.”

Pompeo hoped Trump would address Americans' problems.

Former Vice President Mike Pence — another potential Republican contender for 2024 — echoed a similar sentiment to Pompeo’s in a subsequent interview with Hewitt on Tuesday, indicating that Trump’s campaign announcement would not alter his own decision to run for president. He said he and his wife, Karen Pence, would “carefully consider” what role they might play in the 2024 campaign and that they would likely come to a decision in the new year.

“The only decision Karen and I have made with regard to our future is that we’re not going to let anyone else make that decision for us,” the former vice president said.