On Saturday, his first official day as president, Donald Trump visited the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Langley, Virginia, taking the opportunity to declare war on the Islamic State (ISIS).
Trump’s connection with the intelligence service is up in the air, as the senate decision regarding his candidate to head the agency, Mike Pompeo, was delayed until Monday. Trump took the opportunity to plug his choice for director.
“I met [Mike Pompeo] and I said, ‘He is so good.’ … People like him, but much more importantly to me, everybody respects him… You will be getting a total star, you’re going to be getting a total gem. This is a gem,” Trump said. “You’ll see… And many of you know him anyways, but you’re going to see.”
During the campaign, the CIA, along with other intelligence agencies, alleged that Russia hacked Hillary Clinton’s email server, thereby interfering with the elections. At the time, Trump was critical and questioned the agency’s claims. At the meeting on Saturday, Trump blamed the press for misrepresenting his opinion of the agency.
“I am with you 1000%, and the reason you’re my first stop is that as you know, I have a running war with the media,’ Trump said. “They are among the most dishonest human beings on earth.”
During his inaugural address on Friday, Trump named Islamic terror as one of the enemies he intended to battle as president. He reiterated that claim to the CIA.
“We’re all on the same wavelength, right?” Trump asked those gathered. “We have not used the real abilities that we have. We’ve been restrained. We have to get rid of ISIS.”
