Exclusive — Pompeo Rebuts Romney Blaming America First for Ukraine Crisis: ‘Only Thing’ That Changed is Biden not Trump in White House

ORLANDO, Florida — Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo directly rebutted Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who claimed that “America First” ideology is partially to blame for the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, where the Russian regime has invaded and attacked the nation.

In an interview with Breitbart News at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) here in central Florida, Pompeo ripped Romney and others who blame America First for this Russian incursion into Ukraine.

“The only thing that has changed in the last 14 months is President Biden replacing President Trump. Vladimir Putin didn’t change,” Pompeo said. “The situation on the ground didn’t change. You just have a different Secretary of State and a different president. Putin saw the green light. America First protected and defended the things that matter here at home, and it makes like Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim and the Ayatollah stay in their box.”

Romney, on Wednesday evening as Russians began their attacks in Ukraine, issued a factually inaccurate statement claiming that “America First” ideology was partially to blame for this.

“Putin’s impunity predictably follows our tepid response to his previous horrors in Georgia and Crimea, our naive efforts at a one-sided ‘reset’ and the shortsightedness of ‘America First,’” Romney said in part.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also published an op-ed on Friday morning in the Atlantic in which she blasted Republicans and former President Donald Trump for “playing right into Putin’s and Xi’s hands.”

There have been four U.S. presidents in the 21st century: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. Under three of them—Bush, Obama, and Biden—the Russians engaged in such high levels of hostilities, they led incursions into other countries. Under Trump, the Russians did not do such a thing. Pompeo blasted weakness displayed by globalists as opposed to America First ideology under Trump for the failures.

“When you demonstrate weakness, bad guys get frisky,” Pompeo told Breitbart News. “Bad guys do exactly what you’re saying to these innocent victims in Kiev and Kharkiv and all across Ukraine today. We had demonstrated we weren’t going to send 50,000 troops to go fight everywhere all the time but we were going to use American tools—America’s economy, America’s power—in ways that were deep and important to protect the things that mattered. When you do that—when you put America First—your friends say ‘I want to be part of that’ and your adversaries say ‘I don’t want to be part of that.’”

Asked if he agrees with comparisons between Biden and Neville Chamberlain—the failed British Prime Minister who infamously inaccurately declared there would be “peace for our time” in the lead-up to World War II—Pompeo said he is “very concerned about the risk of cascading crises.”

“We’ve seen this before in American history and in world history even before America where somebody pulls the Jenga pin in one place and the whole darn thing comes crashing down,” Pompeo said. “There’s no doubt that what happened in Afghanistan and what’s happening now in Ukraine, they’re being watched. They’re being watched by the Arab states who are surely saying, ‘my goodness, the United States was with us and they were prepared to help us.’ I took unmitigated grief for selling the Emiratis and the Saudis weapons systems to help them defend themselves. Our Israeli friends are certainly questioning whether if things get tough in the Middle East, will the United States be with them? Our friends in East Asia must surely be asking if China does something that’s aggressive, will the United States be there? Not with ships and aircraft but with the moral support and all the things that America can bring to power. I do fear that we are at a real moment of peril for stability in the world that matters for Americans. I get asked all the time: Why should I care? I live in Kansas, or I live in Ohio; why should I care? In the end, American preeminence in the world has created the opportunity for massive prosperity at home. This instability, this risk, where America is being overpowered by other nations will mean that America is in decline. An America in decline never creates prosperity, never creates health, never creates freedom, never creates an expanded set of liberties here at home as well. In the short run, we’ll have higher gasoline prices because of what’s happening in Ukraine. I come from Kansas—red winter wheat, 25 percent of it comes from Russia or Ukraine. Food will be more expensive. I’m not allowed to eat bread anymore with my new diet, but bread will be more expensive. These things matter to the American people and good leaders will both communicate that and protect Americans.”

On another note, too, Pompeo said he is following the release of bombshell revelations from Breitbart News contributor Peter Schweizer’s new book Red Handed—including key details about President Biden and several of his family members receiving $31 million in deals from people connected to Chinese Communist Party intelligence officials.

“I am following that,” Pompeo said. “There is no doubt we need to learn more about what took place there and that the Chinese Communist Party has been working against American leaders both in office and out of office—governors, city councilmen, family members—to undermine, co-opt, and coerce them and we need to make sure our political leaders have not been impacted by that.”