Reporting by multiple outlets suggests that while President Donald Trump has been outwardly supportive of his national security adviser since the Signalgate security breach fiasco, internal discussions about Mike Waltz’s future were somewhat different.
After a day of bruising headlines about the now-infamous group chat that has inadvertently included journalist Jeffrey Goldberg, on Wednesday evening, Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and top personnel official Sergio Gor had a private meeting with the president, Politico reports.
In that meeting, they suggested that it might be best for Waltz to be dismissed, two people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to discuss them told the outlet.
While the president agreed that Waltz was at fault for the debacle, he ultimately decided not to fire him for one reason — that it would be a win for Democrats and the liberal media.
“They don’t want to give the press a scalp,” one of the people, a White House ally close with the team, told Politico.
According to Axios, Trump officials say the president was more angry that Waltz had Goldberg’s number in his phone than he was about the exposure of sensitive military strike details. Things got worse after Waltz’s sloppy explanation on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show.
The New York Times reports that even before the Signal leak, Waltz was already on “shaky footing” and was viewed as too hawkish and keen for military action against Iran. This has caused friction with other members of the Trump team and the wider MAGA world.
On Friday’s visit to Greenland, Waltz accompanied Vance and, according to an official who spoke to Axios, was counseled by him on the flight back about “knowing his place” and “working more collaboratively.”
For now, key administration figures are standing by Waltz, with statements of support from Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Vance again in Greenland.
“If you think you’re going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, you’ve got another thing coming,” he said.
“President Trump has said it on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday, and I’m the vice president saying it here on Friday, we are standing behind our entire national security team.”
While Waltz still has his job five days after the scandal broke, that doesn’t mean he’s safe, the two people who spoke to Politico said. Indeed, they say that some officials are waiting for the right time to let Waltz go once the news cycle moves on.
When might that be?
One predicted: “They’ll stick by him for now, but he’ll be gone in a couple of weeks.”
