US diplomats 'shocked and confused' after Pompeo claims there will be a 'smooth transition to second Trump administration’: CNN

U.S. diplomats are shocked and confused by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's refusal to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's victory, according to new reports from CNN. National security correspondent Kylie Atwood and State Department correspondent Jennifer Hansler claimed that one U.S. diplomat said, "I am sick. How dare he undermine our work?" And another U.S. diplomat asked, "How can he be serious? This is actually incredibly scary."

"For someone who created a code of ethos and a West Point graduate, he's stooping to the lowest of the low," one State Department official said, adding that Pompeo is "sinking his legacy, even with all the work and diplomacy of his term."

Atwood said, "State often encourages world leaders to accept the results of elections [and] conduct fair elections. Pompeo, when asked if those efforts are discounted by Trump failing to concede, says it is a ridiculous [question]. But American diplomats have told me they are fearful [about] this exact thing."