Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo teased a possible run for president in 2024 during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday night.
Asked by host Sean Hannity whether he would consider running for the White House if former President Donald Trump chooses not to in 2024, Pompeo said, “I’m always up for a good fight.”
“I care deeply about the American conservative movement for an awfully long time now. I aim to keep at it,” he added.
Hannity responded by summarizing his response as “a strong maybe”—to which Pompeo agreed.
Pompeo’s remarks come less than a week after he made an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he criticized President Joe Biden‘s foreign policies and defended the actions he took under the Trump administration.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency on February 27, 2021 in Orlando, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty
“What’s good news today for me is when you’re a diplomat… you have to stay in your lane. I don’t have that. I’m not a diplomat. I’m going to let it rip,” he said in a fiery speech. “The Chinese have sanctioned me. The Iranians don’t think so much of me either. But I’m proud of our fight… we have upended the status quo.”
Among attendees at the conference, Trump was the top pick in a 2024 presidential straw poll with 55 percent of the vote. The CPAC straw poll also asked respondents to rank their picks if Trump decides not to become a candidate.
The results had Florida Governor Ron DeSantis garnering 43 percent of the vote, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on 11 percent, Donald Trump Jr. with 8 percent and Pompeo tied with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas on 7 percent each.
Trump has not confirmed that he will run, but in a CPAC speech on Sunday, he hinted to supporters that he might.
“Actually, you know, they just lost the White House, I may even decide to beat them for a third time,” he said.
The ex-president also assured CPAC attendees that he will remain a Republican as he continues to fight for his Make America Great Again agenda.
“We will win. We will not be starting new parties. We have the Republican Party. I am not starting a new party. That was fake news,” he said.
Pompeo reentered the political fray shortly after Trump left office, leading some to believe that he’s working to keep his name in the public realm for a presidential run. Over the past month, the former secretary of state has helped House Republican fundraising efforts to regain a majority in 2022.
Newsweek reached out to the Republican National Committee for comment.
