Trump’s Dilemma Over National Security Adviser
Throughout much of this week, President Trump found himself preoccupied with a pressing question: what should he do about his national security adviser, Michael Waltz? “Should I fire him?” he repeatedly asked his aides and allies as the fallout continued from the unexpected leak of a Signal group chat that Mr. Waltz had inadvertently created. The chat included sensitive discussions about a forthcoming military strike in Yemen, and shockingly, a journalist was mistakenly added to the thread.
In public, Mr. Trump has consistently defended Mr. Waltz, simultaneously launching attacks on the media. On Tuesday, following the revelation by Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic regarding the inclusion of the journalist in the chat, the president referred to Mr. Waltz as a “good man” who owed no apologies.
However, behind the scenes, Mr. Trump engaged in discussions with various individuals both within and outside the administration, seeking their opinions on how he should proceed. He expressed his frustrations with the negative press coverage but was also wary of appearing to capitulate to the media frenzy, according to multiple sources briefed on his conversations. Moreover, he mentioned that he was hesitant to dismiss senior officials so early in his second term.
For Mr. Trump, the core issue seemed not to be Mr. Waltz’s apparent carelessness in discussing military strategies on a commercial application, but rather the unsettling notion that Mr. Waltz might have a connection to Mr. Goldberg, a journalist who is strongly disliked by the president. Trump conveyed his discontent about the fact that Mr. Waltz had Mr. Goldberg’s contact information saved in his phone.
