The impact of a new 'yes man' surrounding Trump

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Europe

By CGTN’s The Point

“Mike Pompeo will not publicly challenge President Trump. Secretary of State Tillerson did that again and again from the wall with Mexico, to climate change, to Iran, over and over publicly. That will not happen now,” said Rick Dunham, a former White House correspondent.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump fired US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday and selected the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mike Pompeo to step into the role.

Dunham also pointed out that there are rumors that Herbert McMaster, the National Security Adviser, and David Shulkin, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, could face pressure to leave.

Rick Dunham, a former White House correspondent / CGTN Photo

“I think right now, what it means is that if you come in, the lesson you’ve learned in the past 14 months is you challenge Donald Trump at your own risk,” Dunham said. He worries that everyone around Trump says “Yes” instead of questioning him.

“If Trump is surrounding himself with 'yes men', then the US foreign policy basically boils down to Trump’s judgment, and usually he makes his judgment out of his intuition,” the host, Zou Yue added. “But if Trump fails to seal a deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), what will be his gut decision then?”

Dunham has suggested that Trump may take military action. “That could be a disaster for the world, but I think that is in his mind right now,” Dunham added.

Andre Vltchek, an author, and investigative journalist, thinks that even though Mike Pompeo is harsh towards the DPRK, he would support the upcoming planned meeting between the US and the DPRK. “But the danger is there," he argued, "what will happen if the meeting doesn’t go well? I think in that case, Mike Pompeo [will] advocate military or other confrontation with the DPRK.”

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9:30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5:30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10:30 a.m. (0230GMT).