Pompeo Says He Needs to Be ‘Hard at It’ If He Announces Presidential Bid

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday he has to be “hard at it” by the spring if he plans to make a decision about mounting a White House campaign.
“We’re still working our way through,” Pompeo told Fox News, referring to his 2024 timetable. “We figured by the first quarter next year we need to be hard at it if we’re going to do it,” he added.
Pompeo, who was also CIA director during the Trump administration, reiterated that his former boss’s official launch of the 2024 bid wouldn’t keep him from running.
“If you put yourself forward to be a candidate for President of the United States, you damn well better believe that you got the spine of steel, the intellectual capability, and the temerity to be the commander in chief for the most important country in the history of civilization,” he said. “If you believe that it shouldn’t matter who the heck gets in the race, if you’re the only one, or if there’s 15 of you, go forward, make the arguments, competes for the minds and hearts of the voters across the county, and then they’ll sort it out.”…}