Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Mike Pompeo: It’s ‘Possible’ God Sent Trump, Like Queen Esther, To Protect The Jews

It wasn’t a Purim joke, though it may have sounded like one.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Christian television network that it’s “possible” that God sent President Trump to save the Jews — just like he sent Queen Esther, from the Purim story.

“Could it be that President Trump right now has been sort of raised for such a time as this, just like Queen Esther, to help save the Jewish people from the Iranian menace?” asked Chris Mitchell, a reporter with the Christian Broadcasting Network.

“As a Christian, I certainly believe that’s possible,” Pompeo responded.

Thursday was Purim, the Jewish holiday that celebrates Queen Esther’s rescue of the Jews of Persia.

“Nah, we’re good. Thanks anyway,” tweeted the writer Molly Jong-Fast.

An evangelical Christian and a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Pompeo gave the interview while in Jerusalem, where he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In Israel, Pompeo said the U.S. planned to heighten pressure on Iran. Israeli media portrayed the visit as a political gift to Netanyahu, who is facing a difficult reelection campaign.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.