.... About how you're a pompous ass? Check. Of all the reporting teams you choose to go ballistic on NPR? Seriously? I can understand being tired of talking about a topic, and the press keeps...
He asked if I could find Ukraine on a map. I said yes, and he called out for aides to bring us a map of the world with no writing. I pointed to Ukraine. He put the map away.
He said, "people will hear about this."
.... About how you're a pompous ass? Check. Of all the reporting teams you choose to go ballistic on NPR? Seriously?
I can understand being tired of talking about a topic, and the press keeps asking about it. I understand losing your temper. I also understand that when someone is so adamant that you stop talking about a topic, it's usually because they're hiding something.
NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly lied to me, twice. First, last month, in setting up our interview and, then again yesterday, in agreeing to have our post-interview conversation off the record. It is shameful that this reporter chose to violate the basic rules of journalism and decency. This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this Administration. It is no wonder that the American people distrust many in the media when they so consistently demonstrate their agenda and their absence of integrity.
It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine.
The implication is that Mary Louise Kelly mistook Bangladesh for Ukraine when asked to find Ukraine on an unlabeled map, which is absurd. As Aaron Blake writes in the Washington Post:
"Bangaladesh is not Ukraine".
The implication is that Mary Louise Kelly mistook Bangladesh for Ukraine when asked to find Ukraine on an unlabeled map, which is absurd. As Aaron Blake writes in the Washington Post:
Here’s why there is absolutely no way that happened.
First, Bangladesh is more than 3,000 miles away from Ukraine. It is east of India. Ukraine is in Eastern Europe; Bangladesh is in South Asia. Ukraine is in a border war with Russia; Bangladesh does not border Russia and isn’t even close to it. Ukraine is a large country; Bangladesh is comparatively small. It’s difficult to believe basically any journalist who was asked to locate Ukraine would point to Bangladesh, no matter how inexperienced.
And second, even if there was one, there is no way it would be Kelly. Kelly isn’t just a host of “All Things Considered,” she is also a former national security reporter who has traveled overseas extensively in her reporting. She also literally has a master’s degree — in European studies — from Cambridge University in England, which is one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Pompeo could have mentioned a country that is actually near Ukraine, and it still wouldn’t have been believable given Kelly’s background. Mentioning a country in South Asia is patently ridiculous. Indeed, the mere fact that he challenged Kelly on the subject in the first place suggests he doesn’t really know who he was dealing with.
.... About how you're a pompous ass? Check. Of all the reporting teams you choose to go ballistic on NPR? Seriously?
I can understand being tired of talking about a topic, and the press keeps asking about it. I understand losing your temper. I also understand that when someone is so adamant that you stop talking about a topic, it's usually because they're hiding something.
Here's the official statement: https://www.state.gov/statement-by-secretary-michael-r-pompeo/
Quoting the whole thing here:
The implication is that Mary Louise Kelly mistook Bangladesh for Ukraine when asked to find Ukraine on an unlabeled map, which is absurd. As Aaron Blake writes in the Washington Post:
Mary Louise presses pretty hard in that interview while remaining professional. Good on her, not surprised that Pompeo cracked.
Here's the full interview: audio / transcript.
Mary Louise Kelly published an Opinion piece in the NYT about this today: Pompeo Called Me a ‘Liar.’ That’s Not What Bothers Me.