Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared his mission to get conservative leadership back in the White House while making a stop in Bakersfield to speak at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner Friday night.
“The cavalry rides to the sound of the guns and alerts people to a crisis, and our country is in a bad place today because of this administration,” Pompeo said.
Just outside the fundraiser event for the Kern County Republican Party, protesters who show up outside the event year after year called for Congressman Kevin McCarthy to hold town halls for his constituents, something their organizers say he hasn’t done locally for 12 years.
“To not do that and come bring Mike Pompeo here, to be traveling to Florida, to be doing all of these extra things, on the national stage, but to forget about his constituency here at home, is unacceptable,” protest organizer, Neel Sannappa said.
Friday night’s dinner wasn’t Pompeo’s first Kern County visit in recent years: The former Secretary of State made his way over a few years ago for oil-related matters.
Pompeo told 23ABC that he sees a bright future for the oil industry, not agreeing with the Biden Administration or the State of California's response to climate change.
“These folks produce millions of jobs,” Pompeo said. “You know that here all throughout Kern County, amazing jobs and they do it in a clean way and efficient way, the extraction has improved dramatically.”
While he didn’t confirm plans to run in the 2024 presidential election, Pompeo has been on the road in California and Missouri campaigning for GOP candidates, and said he doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
“I’m going to help candidates all across the country. We’ve gotta win in ‘22,” Pompeo said. What happens after that, only the Lord knows,” Pompeo said.
