“We’d imagine NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly was cackling with delight as she typed out her exceptional 77-word retort to Secretary of State’s Mike Pompeo’s dismissive remark about the results of the U.S. presidential election. On Tuesday, a reporter asked America’s top diplomat if the State Department is prepared to engage with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, and if not, could that pose a threat to national security. In response to the question, Pompeo smirked and said: “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” .@SecPompeo: \”There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.\”Full video here: https://t.co/6Rou91HQxv pic.twitter.com/MU9Gp2QWnq— CSPAN (@cspan) November 10, 2020 Back in January ― or about a thousand years ago in quarantine time ― NPR reported that Pompeo subjected Kelly to a profanity-laden rant after he abruptly ended an interview with the “All Things Considered” co-host because she pressed him to answer a question about Ukraine and former U.S. ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. During their intense and private conversation, Kelly said that at one point, Pompeo asked her to find Ukraine on a map, which she did. So, when Pompeo’s remarks about President Donald Trump staying in office ― despite the clear election results ― made headlines on Tuesday, Kelly took to Twitter to deliver one hell of a burn. “Might Pompeo point us to a state on the map where there’s evidence of widespread voter fraud?” Might Pompeo point us to a state on the map where there’s evidence of widespread voter fraud? https://t.co/Hg6hcO8wGO— Mary Louise Kelly (@NPRKelly) November 10, 2020 Many Twitter users loved Kelly’s scorching hot slam, and some offered jokes of their own. This is a thrilling deep cut.— Andrew Fleischman (@ASFleischman) November 10, 2020 Oh snap— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) November 10, 2020 911. I’d like to report a murder.— Paul 👻 (@pablo_honey1) November 10, 2020 You’re assuming Pompeo knows where any state is.— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) November 10, 2020 pic.twitter.com/K05N715wRG— 𝔹𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝟜 𝔹𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕟 😷 (@LocolopezNYC) November 10, 2020 Kelly’s snarky callback references the baseless belief that the presidential election was rigged ― an idea that Trump has pushed and many of his supporters have embraced. — This apparently includes Pompeo, unless his remark was a lame attempt at humor. Though no evidence of widespread voter fraud has emerged, the president and his ilk are on a mission to prove that Democrats somehow stole the election. The Trump team has filed several lawsuits in key swing states to challenge the results, with little success.
