Former secretary of state and potential 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pompeo said Christian conservatives should “never give up an inch” in pursuing their political goals.

“We are not a defeated nation. We are not a nation in decline. We are not a racist nation. We are a Christian nation blessed by God, ”Pompeo said. “Don’t let the awakened socialists bring you down. Keep working. “

Pompeo spoke to 1,200 people today at the Family Leader summit in Des Moines. Pompeo began by joking that he was an unemployed diplomat.

“I’m going to be honest with you, it’s been difficult to watch what’s going on and what has happened in these six months,” Pompeo said. “I wish I was still here.”

While Pompeo touted the “America First” approach to foreign policy he adopted as President Trump’s foreign diplomacy chief, Pompeo spent the vast majority of his speech discussing his faith and his internal problems.

“You see all the garbage they’re trying to teach in our schools today. It comes in various forms, often referred to as Critical Race Theory, but suffice it to say that it is a suggestion that our nation is inherently and systematically racist, ”Pompeo said. “It is a nation that has borne the costs and benefits associated with equality like no other nation in the world. We should be proud of it. We must not question our foundation. It was noble.

Pompeo, who spoke for about 22 minutes, said Christians are right to feel threatened and concerned about what they see in culture and government.

“I will tell you as we look at the issues that we are all aware of today, we see in our homes, on television, that the American family breakdown is at the heart of most of them,” Pompeo said. “This is why the left wants to undermine the family unit on which this nation was built.”

Pompeo is the first of three potential candidates for the Republican Party’s next presidential nomination to speak at today’s event in Des Moines. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and former Vice President Mike Pence will speak later this afternoon.

AUDIO of Pompeo’s speech works at 10 p.m.