Press Releases: Interview With Lukas & Careth In The Morning, B98 FM
Interview
Secretary of State
QUESTION: 97.9 B98, Lukas and Careth in the Morning, your Christmas music station. We’re joined now by Secretary Pompeo. We haven’t talked to Secretary Pompeo since he left Kansas. Are you there?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I am here. It’s great to be with you all. How’s everything going back in Kansas?
QUESTION: We’re – well, it’s cold. I mean, as you expected, right?
SECRETARY POMPEO: I saw that. Yes, sir.
QUESTION: So man, so many things have happened since you’ve been on the show, Secretary. I mean, do you we call you Secretary? Is that the proper name?
SECRETARY POMPEO: It is, but you can call me Mike as you always did, so that’ll be just fine.
QUESTION: (Laughter.) I asked Sumair (ph) about that. I said, “What do I call him now?” He’s like, “Just call him Secretary.” I was like, “Okay.” So, I mean, this has been a whirlwind. You went there and you became the CIA director. Now you’re the Secretary of the State. What’s going on? Give us a little – give everybody in Kansas a little update of what’s happened with you.
SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s quite a privilege, and my Kansas roots have served me well. It’s hard work trying to make sure that we do all the things right to protect Americans and keep them safe. But it is a real opportunity to serve the country and working for President Trump trying to deliver a foreign policy that keeps our young men and women who are serving in America in uniform safe and all of you back at home in Kansas safe as well.
QUESTION: I love it. Okay, so you spent a lot of time in North Korea. We’re so interested in the – I mean, every time I turn on the TV you’re there and doing all the business that’s never been – never happened before in the history. Can you give us some details about that?
SECRETARY POMPEO: It’s been quite a experience to have the opportunity to try and figure out how to deliver for President Trump the outcome that Chairman Kim promised, right, to denuclearize, something that matters to everyone. Then I had the incredible good fortune to return to America with three American hostages, folks who had been held there for a long time, and bring them back safely to their families. It was one of the highlights of my professional life to get the chance to do that. And now the hard task, the hard task of denuclearizing North Korea, it still remains in front of us.
QUESTION: Yeah.
QUESTION: We saw you at President George H.W. Bush’s funeral, and just watching it on TV it was such an emotional experience. What was it like being there?
SECRETARY POMPEO: Oh goodness. It was – it was one of the greatness – one of the things that you see is about the greatness of America, the country coming together around someone who had committed his whole life to serving our country. He’d had one of the same jobs I did. He had been the CIA director. I had gotten to know he – him some during that time when I was CIA director. It was – it was really quite something to be there in that room with leaders from all around the world, leaders from the United States Congress, leaders in the executive branch, and then the Bush family, all paying tribute to a great American.
QUESTION: So being the CIA director and then the Secretary of State, which one did you lose the most sleep about? Like, which one’s harder to – I mean, are they both just like nonstop?
SECRETARY OF STATE: They’re both pretty busy, no doubt about that. Very different jobs for sure. Each one a real opportunity to serve with some great people here, the Foreign Service officers, the civil servants that work at the State Department, and before that the officers of the CIA. Great people. Patriots all, trying to get things done for us all around the world.
QUESTION: Well, I mean, you did a fantastic job of representing Kansas when you were in Congress, and everybody in Kansas loves that.
QUESTION: I’ve got one more question.
QUESTION: Go.
QUESTION: Did you get any of Lukas’s texts?
SECRETARY POMPEO: (Laughter.) I can’t say that I did.
QUESTION: I told him you probably changed your phone number.
QUESTION: I just congratulated him, that was it. That’s all I got. Well, listen, the Shockers play tomorrow against Oklahoma. I know you’re a big Shockers fan still, I hope.
SECRETARY POMPEO: I am. I know it’s on the road. I hope the weather’s good enough for everybody to get down to Norman and we can crush the Sooners.
QUESTION: Yes, look at that. All right. Secretary Pompeo, we love catching up with you. Thank you so much for spending time and calling us.
QUESTION: Merry Christmas, Secretary.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you. Merry Christmas to you all.
QUESTION: Okay, bye-bye.
SECRETARY POMPEO: Yep, bye-bye.