During a meeting with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on 23rd May, American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Trump Administration was prepared to fight back any attempted Russian interference during the upcoming congressional midterm elections. Despite the fact that he did not elaborate upon any possible instances of Russian intrusions, or what America’s response would be, Pompeo made it absolutely clear that “appropriate countermeasures” would be taken against Russia, were the country to interrupt the November’s vote.
During the conference, Eliot Engel, a prominent member of America’s Democratic Party countered Mike’s statements, addressing them as faux threats towards a country Trump is actually in alliance with. Engel stated that Trump Administration would forever give Russia a pass, and turn a blind eye towards their negative intentions because of the fact that their President Vladimir Putin had supported Donald Trump over Hilary Clinton for president during the 2016 elections. Engel attacked Mike Pompeo’s faux precautions by stating that allowing any foreign interference in American elections as long as they supported a particular group’s objectives will result in immediate Democratic crisis.
Donald Trump had always been a target for questions regarding Russia owing to suspicions of a potential alliance between President Putin and the Trump Administration. In spite of the fact that Trump has always denied any and all allegations of a collusion, the distrust among the Democrats remain strong. This meeting marked Mike Pompeo’s first appearance to the congress after acquiring his post of Secretary of State for the US after Trump fired Mr. Rex Tillerson. In this meeting, Mike defended Donald Trump’s decisions and spoke in support of Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to push back against Russia. Mike Pompeo also claimed that what the US government was doing to protect the country against Russia now, was far more superior to any defence mechanisms exacted by previous administrations.