U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced confidence on Tuesday that once every “legal” vote was counted, it would lead to a “second Trump administration,” appearing to reject Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump. But hours after withering criticism over his comments, Pompeo, a close ally and appointee of Trump, in a Fox News interview appeared to soften his tone.
“I am very confident that we will have a good transition, that we will make sure that whoever is in office on noon on January 20th has all the tools readily available so we don’t skip a beat with the capacity to keep Americans safe,” Pompeo said.
Earlier at a State Department briefing, he said: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.”
Those comments drew praise from Trump, who tweeted a video late on Tuesday of Pompeo’s comments, saying: “That’s why Mike was number one in his class at West Point!” referring to the U.S. Military Academy.
Biden said earlier that nothing would stop the transfer of power in the U.S. government.
The former vice president secured more than the 270 votes in the Electoral College needed to take the presidency by winning Pennsylvania on Saturday.
But Trump and his allies insist “illegal” ballots may have been cast despite no evidence of mass voter fraud, which is extremely rare in U.S. elections.
The Republican president has so far refused to concede and is pursuing lawsuits in several states in a long-shot bid to hold on to power. State officials have said there were no significant irregularities in the Nov. 3 election.
Pompeo did not make any comments in either set of remarks to suggest he recognized Biden as the president-elect.
Asked during the Fox News interview if he was being “serious” regarding his comments about a “second Trump administration,” Pompeo did not say either way but did not repeat the phrase.
He spoke as leaders of other countries, including Washington’s close allies the UK, France and Canada, have already congratulated Biden