Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday told Fox Business that China is trying to "send a message" to President Joe Biden with sanctions on former Trump administration officials.
Last month, China imposed travel bans and business restrictions on several former officials in the Trump administration, including Pompeo.
"The sanctions that took place were intended to do a single thing: It was to send a message to the next administration, the Biden administration, that says if you're serious about protecting America, American sovereignty, American jobs, American wealth ... you will be punished," Pompeo told "Mornings With Maria" on Thursday.
"And so they were trying to send a message to the current secretary of state, the national security adviser, saying, 'Careful, don't do the right thing for America, don't protect Americans, if you do you will personally be punished,'" he continued.
China's foreign ministry said in a statement last month: "Over the past few years, some anti-China politicians in the United States, out of their selfish political interests and prejudice and hatred against China and showing no regard for the interests of the Chinese and American people, have planned, promoted and executed a series of crazy moves which have gravely interfered in China's internal affairs, undermined China's interests, offended the Chinese people, and seriously disrupted China-U.S. relations."
Pompeo told Fox Business that he considers the sanctions to be a "badge of honor," and said, "We took seriously 50 years of failed policy, flipped on its head and put a real premium on protecting Americans from the threat that the Chinese Communist Party presents to each and every one of us."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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