Statewide Iowa — Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Russian President Vladimir Putin has been testing the west and whether the U.S. would defend important American interests in Ukraine.
Pompeo is in Iowa for events in three cities. He spoke with reporters early Wednesday night, just before reports began to indicate the situation on the ground in Ukraine was growing more dire. Pompeo criticized the Biden Administration for letting a bad man roll around Europe and he also suggested former President Trump’s recent description of Putin as “savvy” and “genius” was being misinterpreted.
Pompeo says Putin’s aggression is primarily a European challenge and Europe must show it can defend itself.
Pompeo spoke at an event Wednesday night hosted by a brand new group called the Bastion Institute. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst spoke, too, and warned instability in Europe has ripple effects in the United States.
Ernst had been calling for the Biden Administration to impose pre-emptive sanctions against Russia and she says the financial restraints Biden has announced thus far don’t go far enough. Ernst and Pompeo were set to speak Thursday night at a GOP fundraiser in Fort Dodge and another one on Friday in Davenport. Senator Chuck Grassley says the U.S. needs to draw a line in the sand with sanctions against Russia. Grassley faults the Biden Administration for not revealing earlier what steps the U.S. would take.
Grassley made his comments Wednesday in Atlantic, long before Russia began attacking Ukraine.
