Sputnik: What do you think Pompeo as secretary of state will mean for the US?
Daniel Franklin: At least in the past he has been rather "hawkish," which means that he favors the use of force. But then again that's not so different from, say, Tillerson. The president had said on campaign trail that he was going to rely less on the military and military involvement in extending American foreign policy.
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But there is a difference between running for president and being a president. And so far, Trump's foreign policy, in regards to military, is pretty conventional. I don't really see a major change in Trump's use of force. The concern about Pompeo particularly from the left was that… of course he has a history — he has been a member of Congress and as a member of Congress he was a social conservative. And to the extent that the secretary of state is a policy-making position as opposed to an administrative position, which is what the director of the CIA is.
This is the difference between the fact that he was easily nominated and confirmed for the CIA as opposed to the State Department. The State Department is a policy position. And so his policy positions become much more relevant, not just in terms of use of force, but also in terms of things like human rights and immigration and respect for Muslim countries and that sort of thing becomes much more of an issue. That's why there was much more opposition.
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But as I said, for the most part, unless there is some kind of personal malfeasance during their examinations, they found that the nominee has done something in their personal life. In general, the Senate allows the president to work with people the president wants to work with. And so I always thought that he was going to be confirmed, unless they found something about him.
Sputnik: Trump is a very unique president. Many feel that he is very easily influenced by the people that surround him. From that point of view, what do you think Pompeo's influence will be on Trump?
Daniel Franklin: I think Pompeo will be a rather conventional conservative. And to the extent that he can influence Trump, he will influence Trump away from the statements that he made on the campaign trail about pulling the United States out of foreign affairs.
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But on the other hand, as you said, President Trump is rather unconventional president. It is often the case that the president doesn't take the advice of his advisors, even the advisors that presumably know more about policy than he does. If Pompeo has a good relationship with the president, then he'll be fine. If he doesn't — it will be a disaster.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
