Colin Powell was the most popular figure in the Republican Party in 2004, when he served as secretary of state for U.S. President George W. Bush. But when the party held its national convention in August of that year, he refused to attend, citing his role as the country’s top diplomat. “As secretary of state, I am obliged not to participate in any way, shape, fashion, or form in parochial, political debates,” Powell said at the time. “I have to take no sides in the matter.”
This election season, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has chosen a different path, giving a televised address to the Republican National Convention from Jerusalem and making public appearances in several potential battleground states during official State Department travel. He made one such appearance at a Baptist church in Plano, Texas, on Sunday evening, following a trip to Latin America. On Wednesday, he is scheduled to travel to Wisconsin—a key battleground state that could decide the 2020 election results—to deliver another speech, this one focused on threats from China.
