Flouting tradition, the nation's top diplomat used an official visit to Jersualem as a backdrop Tuesday to argue before the Republican National Convention that America must "stay the course" with President Trump.
In a much-criticized recorded message from a hotel rooftop in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo never mentioned Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden by name, but made it clear that he believes the choice Americans must make on Nov. 4 is President Donald Trump.
"I saw first-hand people desperate to cling to freedom," he said. "The way each of us can best ensure our freedoms is by electing leaders who don't just talk, but who deliver. An American hostage, imprisoned in Turkey for two years, Pastor Andrew Brunson, said upon his release that he survived his ordeal with these words of scripture, 'Be faithful, endure, and finish well.'
"If we stay the course, we will," Mr. Pompeo said.
Former secretaries of state have addressed political conventions. Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, and John Kerry, for example, did at the Democratic National Convention last week. But sitting secretaries of state have traditionally avoided mixing partisan politics and foreign policy.
The backdrop of Jerusalem takes on extra significance as the President has touted his decision in 2018 to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv despite claims from both Israel and the Palestinians to the Holy City.
Mr. Pompeo pointed to the recently brokered peace deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
He argued that the Trump Administration has fought back against Chinese spies, the "China virus," and bad Chinese trade tactics.
He suggested the administration has slowed North Korea's march toward a nuclear weapon, strengthened NATO, and exited the United States from a "disasterous" nuclear deal with Iran.
Many of the points seemed targeted to address criticisms that came from Democrats last week in their convention about the President's response.
In line with the President's criticism of the media, Nick Sandmann, a former Covington, Ky. high school student, spoke of how he found himself in a media firestorm in 2019.
A viral video captured what appeared to be Mr. Sandmann, wearing a red Make America Great Again hat, mocking a drumming Native American activist at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. He later received financial settlements of unknown amounts from CNN and The Washington Post.
"The full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode,” he said, speaking again before the Lincoln Memorial. “They did so without researching the full video of the incident, without further investigating [Native American activist Nathan Phillips'] motives or without ever asking me for my side of the story. And do you know why? Because the truth was not important. Advancing their anti-Christian, anti-conservative, anti-Donald Trump narrative was all that matters..."
He added, "And I know you'll agree with me when we say that no one in this country has been a victim of unfair media coverage more than President Donald Trump."
In a night heavy with the display of racial diversity, Mr. Trump used recorded portions of the convention to grant a full pardon to Jon Ponder, of Las Vegas, a convicted bank robber turned advocate for former inmates, and to attend the oath of citizenship ceremony of five immigrants from five countries.
On Monday night, an Ohio trucker, who made a brief recorded appearance at the Republican National Convention with President Trump and others on the front lines of the coronavirus fight, was dubious when he first heard from the campaign.
Monte Wiederhold, 64, owner of Reever Transport in Maumee, told The Blade Tuesday that he believes he came to the attention of the President's staff when he attended a Fourth of July celebration this year at the White House honoring health-care and other front line workers.
A resident of Lebanon, Ohio, he is a board member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
“I'm a fan of President Trump, but I would have gone no matter who the president was,” he said. “You don't just say no. It ran during the RNC, but it wasn't a political thing. It was all about people who've kept this country moving — nurses, postal workers, truckers. It was quite an experience.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), in a theme being promoted in a current Biden campaign ad during the convention, on Tuesday criticized Mr. Trump for urging a boycott of Akron-based Goodyear Tires after an employee posted a photo of an internal policy banning Make America Great Again and other political gear in the workplace. A recurring message at the convention is Mr. Trump’s claim of a manufacturing comeback over the last three and a half years.
“Throughout his presidency, all too often he has showed us who he really is,” Mr. Brown said. “He simply doesn't care about workers. He's willing to risk American jobs to try to save his own. Goodyear employs 3,300 people in Akron. ... In just one tweet, President Trump put their livelihoods at risk. That's who this president is. It's who we will see on display this week.”
Capping the evening’s events, first lady Melania Trump acknowledged the pain caused by the coronavirus pandemic during her address. Her husband sat in the front row.
“My husband's administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment or vaccine available to everyone. Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic," Ms. Trump said.
Information from The Blade’s news services was used in this report.
First Published August 25, 2020, 9:23 p.m.
