Former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo caught Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner off guard Monday when he flatly stated that China, which Faulkner described as America’s “frenemy,” would give Iran money, even after a high-profile state visit to the U.S. last week.
The moment came during The Faulkner Focus, when Faulkner put a direct question to Pompeo and asked for nothing more than a one-word answer.
“All right, real quickly, and it really has to be a yes or no because I want to get to one more thing with you if I can, Secretary. Yes or no, would our frenemy, China, give Iran money?” Faulkner asked.
Pompeo did not hesitate.
“Yes,” he answered.
The swift and unequivocal reply appeared to take Faulkner by surprise.
“Ooo, OK. We’ll follow up on that another day,” a wide-eyed Faulkner said before moving on to her next question.
But the Fox News anchor did not wait long to circle back. A short time later, she returned to the topic and pressed the former secretary of state for more.
“Real quickly, your thought on China giving money to Iran?” she asked.
Pompeo laid out a sweeping case against Beijing.
“Look, they’re supporting them already,” Pompeo said. “You see lots of the missiles that are firing have dual-use technologies that are coming from China. The Chinese Communist Party has been allegedly providing targeting data. They’re killing Americans.”
He went on to describe the Chinese Communist Party as a clear threat working in concert with other U.S. rivals.
“The Chinese Communist Party is an adversary, and they are working with the Russians and the Iranians to undermine the United States. Period. Full stop,” Pompeo said.
Faulkner took note of what Pompeo did not say about the recent diplomatic visit.
“I noticed you didn’t say that the trip took off some of the edge of that because an enemy is just that,” she replied.
Pompeo’s blunt assessment stood in contrast to comments made just days earlier by U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue. Speaking with Fox News on Friday, Perdue said Chinese President Xi Jinping has “assured” the U.S. that China is not aiding Iran, despite reports claiming otherwise.
Perdue told Fox anchor Bill Hemmer that the issue has been discussed between the two nations for some time.
“Well, this has been a continual conversation over some period of time,” Perdue said. “President Trump did a great job making sure that China knows that this is unacceptable.”
The ambassador also pointed to recent progress while noting that the president has raised the matter with Xi on more than one occasion.
“We’ve seen some movement over the last month as well, but this isn’t the first time President Trump has brought it up with President Xi,” Perdue said.
The differing views from Pompeo and Perdue highlight the ongoing debate over China’s relationship with Iran. While Perdue pointed to assurances from Xi and credited President Trump with making clear that such support is unacceptable, Pompeo left no room for doubt, declaring that China is already backing Tehran and working alongside Russia and Iran against American interests.
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