Since all of you were busy yesterday trying to suss out whether Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira is a hero of the Republic or a traitor who should be up against the wall after a fair trial, there was other political news yesterday. Mike Pompeo has announced he will not run for the Republican nomination in 2024, while Joe Biden got closer to making an announcement he will because of the optimism he felt during his visit to Ireland. By the by, I think Jack Teixeira is an immature child and stupid dupe who will spend many years in Fort Leavenworth, unless he goes trans and then he will get out after a few years and join the talk show circuit.

I thought for sure Mike Pompeo was running in 2024 when I saw him in 2022 at CPAC. He had lost weight and he looked good. Earlier this year, he released his book, Never Give An Inch, usually another sign of a Presidential run. I loved him as Trump’s CIA Director and Secretary of State. Last night, he announced he would not be joining the GOP Presidential Primary crowd. From the New York Slimes Times:

“While we care deeply about America, and the issues that I’ve been talking about this last year and half, and frankly for decades, matter an awful lot, this isn’t our moment,” Mr. Pompeo said, referring to himself and his wife, during an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News.
Mr. Pompeo, 59, had indicated his interest in running as he toured early primary states. He said he had not made his decision based on former President Donald J. Trump’s lead in early polls of the Republican race. He also declined to endorse Mr. Trump and obliquely criticized him, saying, “I think Americans are thirsting for people making arguments, not just tweets.”
“I want to find that person who can not only talk about the things that matter to every family in America, but who can actually build an organization, create a team and deliver that for the American people,” he said, adding that this “might not be” Mr. Trump.

Pompeo talks about talking. Talk is cheap. Like I said, I love Mike Pompeo. I don’t think it will ever be his time to be President. Doesn’t mean he cannot serve in other ways. And, to Pompeo and all other would be candidates: I don’t give a good gosh darn about tweets or talking. I didn’t necessarily like Trump’s talk or tweets, I like what Donald Trump did.

At Knock Airport before he left Ireland, Joe Biden said that his trip to there has renewed his sense of optimism. He is ready to lick the world:

The @WhiteHouse website includes "lick the world" phrase in the remarks delivered by Joey during his Ireland visit. He is an embarrassment.#FJB @JoeBiden @POTUS#GodHelpUs pic.twitter.com/QKWvtrMqU7

— Terri D Collins (@TerriDelCo) April 15, 2023

To show that I do have a heart (albeit a small one), Joe ran into the Priest who gave his son his Last Rites and that had to be emotionally wrenching:

Earlier on Friday Biden, who is Roman Catholic, broke down in tears behind closed doors during a chance meeting at a nearby shrine with the priest who performed the last rites on his son Beau.
While visiting Knock, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in 1879, Biden discovered that ex-U.S. Army chaplain Father Frank O’Grady had moved to the town from Washington. The two met for 10 minutes and said a decade of the rosary.
“He laughed, he cried and it just kind of hit the man. You could just see how deeply it all felt and meant to him. It was an extraordinary afternoon,” Father Richard Gibbons, who had been giving Biden the tour when they met O’Grady, told the BBC.
Biden, recounting the meeting in his speech, said: “It was incredible to see him. It seemed like a sign.”

Later Friday, Joe came out to give a speech to the Boston Irish band, Dropkick Murphys “Shipping Up To Boston”:

Biden appeared in front of thousands of flag-waving well-wishers to a rousing Celtic punk anthem in an event that brought the kind of energy the Democratic president will hope to recreate in domestic rallies.

It was raucous.

.@JoeBiden is given a rapturous welcome as he arrives on stage outside St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, Co Mayo | https://t.co/7LELAyfeN9 pic.twitter.com/t9KYCqvsoD

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 14, 2023

I might have been dancing a bit. Well now Joe is optimistic:

Speaking before leaving Knock Airport, Joe Biden said that he has decided to run for a second term and will announce his campaign "relatively soon". He said his trip to Ireland has reinforced his sense of optimism about what can be done | https://t.co/HJ1ePsPYZy pic.twitter.com/wjwQzDvmou

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 14, 2023

Featured Image: Gage Skidmore/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons

Up until the Dropkick Murphys intro, Joe’s trip felt a little like a Make a Wish Foundation trip. Told you my heart was small.