Mary Kissel is the new senior policy adviser for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. She is also a former Wall Street Journal editorial writer who was often sharply critical of President Trump. Some people are wondering how Kissel is going to fit in in the State Department — especially because Trump himself has already attacked her. Back in 2016, Trump called her a “major loser.”
Now, it’s not clear how the president will respond to news that this “major loser” is working for his State Department. One former official told Politico, “Trump would lose his mind if he knew about this.” The official spoke anonymously. Here’s what you need to know about Mary Kissel:
1. Kissel Has Been Called a ‘Never Trumper’
Kissel appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” back in 2016. You can watch the full episode above. Co-host Mika Brzezinski tried hard to pin down Kissel’s politics and tried label Kissel as a never-Trumper. At one point Brzezinski said, “It just seems like you come to the table like a ‘stop Trump-er,’ so I just want to make clear as to what box everyone’s in.”
Kissel refused to be pinned down, but Brzezinski wasn’t coming up with the label out of nowhere. Kissel has complained about Trump’s “frightening ignorance.” She has also slammed the president’s relationship with Russia; after Trump’s summit with Putin, Kissel called the summit a “propaganda victory for Putin.” And you can watch Kissel talk about the Trump campaign’s “ineptitude” here.
2. The Wall Street Journal Slammed Trump for his Lack of Foreign Policy Knowledge, Among Other Things
“@SirHatchporch: Mary Kissel is an SNL character, right? She’s not a real person, right? #MorningJoe” She is a major loser – no clue!
Kissel has been hired to work for the State Department, so it seems especially ironic that she was a part of the editorial team that slammed Trump for his lack of foreign policy knowledge. Back in 2016, before Trump had been elected, the Wall Street Journal wrote that, not only did Trump not know much about foreign policy, he was also too arrogant to hire good people to help him. The paper wrote,
“Richard Nixon forgot more about foreign policy than Mr. Trump has ever known, and he still brought in Henry Kissinger.George H.W. Bush, a former Vice President and CIA director, had James Baker and Dick Cheney. All Presidents need trusted lieutenants who have thought about the world. On stage with Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump will have to do more than point to his real-estate deals as a qualification for negotiating with China’s Xi Jinping. Maybe Mr. Trump figures he can keep blustering his way to the White House. But the anti-Trump coalition could grow if voters see a front-runner who won’t debate, threatens riots if he doesn’t win, and whose foreign-policy brain trust consists of one brain.”
3. Kissel Joined the Wall Street Journal as a Foreign Correspondent in Hong Kong
Kissel went to work for the Wall Street Journal’s Hong Kong bureau back in 2004, as a financial columnist; she eventually served as Asia opinion editor for the paper from 2005 to 2010. Before joining the Wall Street Journal, Kissel was an investment banker, working for Goldman Sachs in both their New York and their London offices.
Kissel has a BA from Harvard College and an MA from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
4. Kissel Was Also a Fox News Contributor & a Syndicated Radio Host
Kissel hosts a weekly syndicated radio show, the John Batchelor Show. The show was founded on September 12, 2001, just after the 911 attack. The show describes itself as “an essential tool for understanding the new order in the 21st Century,” adding, “The world is now facing a dangerous and fanatical enemy determined to destroy Western civilization on both political and military fronts. In this, the first great ideological battle of the new millennium, it is imperative to know the major players and the theaters in which they operate.”
Kissel is also a Fox News contributor.
5. Kissel Has Been Blamed for a ‘Smear Campaign’ Against Elizabeth Warren
Back in 2011, the Wall Street Journal ran a series of editorials slamming Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren. The newspaper accused Warren, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, of extorting mortgage companies. The piece says, “The bureau itself is trying to extend its reach by extorting billions of dollars from private mortgage servicers, regulating their business by fiat, and stalling a U.S. housing market recovery.” The editorials called out Warren for allegedly “answering to nobody” and complained that she was setting her own budget.
Of course, the Wall Street Journal editorials never carry a by-line. But rumor had it that Kissel played a key role in the attacks on Warren coming from the paper’s editorial board.