Pompeo Roundly Criticized for Shouting at NPR Host Over Ukraine Questions: ‘This Is Nuts’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo apparently erupted on NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly after she confronted him about Ukraine and Marie Yovanovitch.

After that interview, Kelly says Pompeo shouted at her, dropped the F-bomb multiple times, and even asked her if she could find Ukraine on a map (she did).

A number of NPR colleagues came to Kelly’s defense, and Pompeo received a great deal of criticism for his angry response:

This is outrageous — and not the first time, my sources tell me, that @secpompeo has cursed privately at journalists whose questions he did not like. @NPRKelly is a true professional and excellent journalist. https://t.co/MCp3wOSl7C

— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) January 24, 2020

Pompeo: Point out Ukraine on a map

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly: pic.twitter.com/VYu0eOOpZc

— Tim Mak (@timkmak) January 24, 2020

This is why I've always admired @NPRKelly as a colleague and journalist. This is professionalism and incisive questioning. This is NPR. https://t.co/ifzt9FPIgi

— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) January 24, 2020

This is nuts.

After @NPRKelly questioned him about Ukraine, the Secretary of State took her to his private living room without a recorder where he shouted at her “do you think Americans care about Ukraine?” using “repeated expletives” and made her point to Ukraine on a map pic.twitter.com/Ynq71Ne4Xu

— Vera Bergengruen (@VeraMBergen) January 24, 2020

The Secretary of State actually asked @NPRKelly to find Ukraine on a map. Wow, did he try to intimidate the wrong person.

— Mark Mazzetti (@MarkMazzettiNYT) January 24, 2020

The top U.S. diplomat shouted and cursed at @NPRKelly after the interview was over — he was unhappy about being asked about Ukraine. She thanked him for his time. https://t.co/jxGEy4TgjJ

— Hannah Bloch (@HannahBloch) January 24, 2020

Her questions were reasonable, relevant and appropriate and politely and professionally asked.

Listen here:https://t.co/BDsecIDqDu https://t.co/lmRlumRpkG

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 24, 2020

Yelling at a reporter and demanding they point to countries on a map is pretty questionable behavior regardless of the situation. Doing this to @NPRKelly, who has reported extensively from Iran, Russia, and countless other places, was probably not the best decision.

— Scott Detrow (@scottdetrow) January 24, 2020

Here’s what it will look like if Mike Pompeo has to answer questions at the impeachment trial. pic.twitter.com/c2BZbdJdMb

— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) January 24, 2020

In which Secretary Pompeo loses his temper with @NPRKelly for asking very obvious, newsy questions one would expect he anticipated. pic.twitter.com/1Q6QMLQYnX

— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) January 24, 2020

If NPR reporters can fluster you, coat yourself in bubblewrap and never leave Hannity's studio https://t.co/gLQOhJ6VJU

— David Dayen (@ddayen) January 24, 2020

If you think Pompeo would have demanded a male journalist point to Ukraine, well, I don’t know what to say to you.

— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) January 24, 2020

Some politicians don't realize that by treating reporters this way, they're just giving them more material. And it will often make them look worse than whatever it was they were upset about in the first place. This paints a picture of an enormously stressed out Mike Pompeo: https://t.co/xR6YLD783b

— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) January 24, 2020

Wait, he really … didn't think a national security reporter could find Ukraine on a map? https://t.co/OSFgTCT1I0

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) January 24, 2020

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