Mike Pompeo in Speeches at CPAC (2020s)
On Abortion:
Abortion isn't a human right; it takes a human life
Under President Trump's leadership we have aligned American aid with American values by reinstating the policy that prohibits one single dollar of yours from going to
an abortion anywhere in the world. President Trump understands deeply that abortion isn't a human right. it takes a human life.
Source: Remarks by the Secretary of State at 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2020
On Abortion:
Most pro-life administration in history of the United States
I'm proud that we were the most pro-life administration in the history of the United States of America. It was my job to deny that any taxpayer dollars from any hardworking American ever went to perform an abortion any place in the world.
And we promoted adoption everywhere and always. And don't forget too, President Trump appointed an awful lot of judges that understand the words life, and liberty and words that have real, real meaning.
Source: Remarks by Secretary Pompeo at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 26, 2021
On Abortion:
Stopped taxes going to foreign countries to promote abortion
We protected every human life. I couldn't be more proud of the fact that when I came into be Secretary of State, your money that was being paid in
American taxes going to foreign countries being used to promote abortion around the world--in an instant, we stopped at. We saved countless lives.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
On Energy & Oil:
We won't make solar panels; Chinese panels will flood market
I see my predecessor's predecessor, green geek, John Kerry, right? He thinks these folks are all going to go make solar panels. You ask the good people of midland Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, or South Dakota, Pennsylvania. You think petroleum
engineers and rig hands are going to go out and make solar panels? No, and you can bet this too. Those cheap Chinese solar panels will start flooding into America like you have not seen. And this won't be good for the United States of America.
Paris Climate Accord was a job destroying joke. So we said look, we all want clean air, safe drinking water. But the Paris agreement was a fantasy for elite diplomats who just wanted to virtue signal.
And when President Biden re-entered this deal, I can tell you that Xi Jiaping was smiling every single minute. And the American workers lost.
Source: Remarks by Secretary Pompeo at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 26, 2021
On Foreign Policy:
Dangerous agreements like Iran's made us less safe
When I meet with leaders, I'm pretty much just Mike. I live by a code I learned about at West Point: just tell it straight, they prefer it. It's the way President Trump operates as well. I set clear expectations for what it means to be on America's side.
I ask our partners to step up on the biggest challenges we face, whether that is countering the Islamic Republic of Iran, countering China, restoring democracy in Venezuela.Under previous administrations our nations signed dangerous agreements that
made Americans less safe like the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Accord. We had bad trade deals. People said these things couldn't be fixed. But everyone knows this, the point is changing behavior, not signing documents. If there is no
compliance or the agreements are flawed, you have to get out of them. They're just ink on paper.
They said pulling away from the Iran nuclear deal will lead to runaway proliferation but it's restored deterrence. It's made our world far safer.
Source: Remarks by the Secretary of State at 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2020
On Gun Control:
Second Amendment builds communities & strong families
We worked hard protecting your right to own firearms. Our Second Amendment matters. It builds communities.
It builds strong families, and it makes sure each of us has the right to defend ourselves precisely as our founders intended.
Source: Remarks by Secretary Pompeo at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 26, 2021
On Homeland Security:
Don't bend a knee to the Chinese Communist Party
They are inside our colleges and universities. They are working on local governments, mayors, governors. You should demand that your mayor, your county commission, board, governor doesn't bend a knee to the Chinese Communist Party.
Your state pension system--if any of you are teachers or work for government pay money into state pension systems--you should make sure it isn't underwriting what the Chinese Communist Party might one day use to attack our system.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
On Principles & Values:
God blessed US to stand for religious freedom
Can anyone in this room remember a better time to be an American conservative? President Trump will never stop winning. That's what a lot of folks have been working on for a long time. Some people look at the killing of Christians in the Middle East
or Uighurs or other believers and say look, that's not our problem. But I would say--President Trump would say--yes, it's God that blessed this country as the standard bearer for religious freedom. Nations that respect this right are freer, more
prosperous, more secure, more stable. President Trump has made this incredibly central to what it is we're trying to achieve.
America under President Trump means business. They know that America is a force for good. It does not mean we get it right
every day but I can assure you wherever I go, working for President Trump, people tug on my sleeves, they want to meet me, they want to meet me not because I'm Mike from Kansas, but because I represent the greatest nation in the history of civilization.
Source: Remarks by the Secretary of State at 2020 CPAC Conference
Feb 28, 2020
On War & Peace:
North Korean policy deterred missile tests & nuclear weapons
President Trump sent me to Pyongyang when I was a CIA director to meet with Chairman Kim, to prepare for the summit that was held in Singapore. We threatened fire and fury. We threatened fire and fury not to go to war, but to deter it. And deter it,
we did. Since those summits, one in Singapore, one in Hanoi, the North Koreans haven't tested a long range, ballistic missile, and they haven't tested their nuclear weapons. Exactly zero tests have been conducted. That's real foreign policy.
Source: Remarks by Secretary Pompeo at the 2021 CPAC Conference
Feb 26, 2021
On War & Peace:
The work you did in Afghanistan saved American lives
I know watching what happened in Afghanistan was hard and difficult and depressing. Many of you have questioned whether your service was wasted. As the former secretary of state, I want you to know that the work you did in
Afghanistan saved American lives. Your work was noble and important. This secretary of state wants you to know that I love you. I thank you for your service. God bless you, you saved American lives.
Source: Speech at the 2022 CPAC Conference in Orlando FL
Feb 25, 2022
On Budget & Economy:
Adding trillions in new debt is indecent and can't continue
I see today that we are $31 trillion in debt and I tell my son to work hard. Every recent administration, republican and democratic alike have added trillions of dollars in new debt.
This is indecent and can't continue. It will be hard work. It won't just be a campaign speech. Talking about it we need to demonstrate seriousness to the American people why this matters. It will require tough, difficult choices.
Source: Speech at the 2023 CPAC Conference in Maryland
Mar 3, 2023
On Education:
Our schools teach kids to be ashamed of America
It's about being a democracy once again, the thing that will convince the next generation that our conservative ideas have made America so great. Our schools teach kids to be ashamed of America. They teach the 1619 Project instead of our values.
We are at risk. President Xi is counting on us teaching our kids this crap. The teacher's union will lock parents out of our schools and keep gender transitions hidden from parents. This is immoral, evil and dangerous.
Source: Speech at the 2023 CPAC Conference in Maryland
Mar 3, 2023
On Foreign Policy:
China is gaining intelligence through our cell phones
This challenge that we hear so much about from the Chinese Communist Party, this challenge threatens every aspect of our life. Sometimes when we think about China we think about Taiwan, it seems a long ways away. But they are inside the gates.
They are gaining intelligence through technology on our cell phones. They are propagandizing, they have the largest spy operation ever conducted inside the United States of America.
Source: Speech at the 2023 CPAC Conference in Maryland
Mar 3, 2023
On Principles & Values:
You can cancel some things, you can't cancel God
When the churches are closed, this is not an America that any of us know or love. Christians, Jews, Muslims, they have held beliefs central to the millennia. They've had to choose between their faith and livelihood.
I worked hard as secretary of state for religious freedom at home and around the world. It is a shame that it is under fire as it is at home and around the world. You can cancel some things, you can't cancel God.
Source: Speech at the 2023 CPAC Conference in Maryland
Mar 3, 2023
Page last updated: Jul 15, 2024