In an interview, Donald Trump Jr suggested that Mike Pompeo should be "smart enough" to decide whether to run against his father, Donald Trump, if the former president runs for president again in 2024.
Donald Trump has yet to announce whether or not he will run for president in 2020. Pompeo's opposition to Mehmet Oz, a candidate favored by Donald Trump for the Pennsylvania Senate race, has been seen by Trump Jr as an indication that he may run against the former president in 2024.
Trump Ally Slams Mike Pompeo
Pompeo recently slammed Dr. Oz, claiming that he owed an explanation concerning the "scope and depth of his ties with the Turkish government," alluding to the 2018 candidate vote in Turkey, where he has dual citizenship with the US.
Per The Independent, the former Secretary of State has also fueled speculation that he would bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. When questioned about a prospective presidential run in 2024, he didn't rule it out. In November, the former secretary of state will release a book that, according to sources, would detail his time in the Trump administration.
According to his publisher, the book would include unvarnished evaluations of the deals done and individuals encountered along the journey. Pompeo recently stated that having the former president back on Twitter would be "fantastic."
Mike Pompeo Opposes Trump-Backed Dr. Oz
Pompeo was chastised by former President Donald Trump's ally Richard Grenell on Monday for his statements raising worries about Mehmet Oz, Trump's Pennsylvania Senate candidate. Pompeo chastised Oz for his Turkish citizenship, accusing him of having links to the Turkish government, The Hill reported.
His tweet included an image of an announcement about Pompeo's press conference outlining serious national security concerns about Oz's close links to the Turkish government and military. His remarks come after Pompeo attended a briefing last week about his worries regarding Oz. Pompeo accuses him of having links to the Turkish government, while Oz's opponent, David McCormick, is a "patriot," according to Pompeo.
Oz's citizenship had already come up at McCormick's news conference with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believes Oz's Turkish citizenship might cause problems if he receives information on international affairs in the Senate.
However, Oz claims that the questions about his citizenship are xenophobic. The Pennsylvania Senate candidate claims he keeps his Turkish citizenship to care for his mother but that if elected, he will renounce it. Pompeo pressed Oz's team to explain why he had "time and energy to vote in a Turkish election but not in an American election," adding that his choice "generated plenty of judgments about his priorities" in his view.
He stated that concerns like these would raise questions as persons were assessed for security clearance, citing his experience as the director of the CIA. In Pennsylvania, many Republicans are wary about Oz's conservative credentials. According to recent polling, the Republican primary in Pennsylvania is a close race. Oz was just 2 percent ahead in a poll issued by Franklin & Marshall College on Thursday, with less than one-fifth of Republican voters backing him.
With 18 percent of Republicans supporting Trump's candidate, McCormick came in second with 16 percent. Kathy Barnette, an Army veteran, came in third with 12% of the vote. Several other Republican candidates received single-digit support, as per Newsweek via MSN.