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Donald Trump to fire NSA Mike Waltz over embarrassing Signal chat leak? US President answers
President Trump affirmed he won't fire National Security Adviser Mike Waltz despite a recent misstep involving a journalist in a private Signal chat.
Amid reports that of Donald Trump being suggested to oust National Security Adviser Mike Waltz's after his embarrassing misstep of inclusion of a journalist in a Signal chat, the US President on Saturday made his clearest commitment to not fire anyone over the accidental leak of his administration's plans for an airstrike against the Houthis in Yemen.
US President Donald Trump said he doesn't fire people because of “fake news and witch hunts”, despite the White House acknowledging the leak.
Also Read | Signal chat leak: Read the transcript of US attack plans shared with The Atlantic journalist by Trump officials
"I don't fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News.
Donald Trump also asserted that he had confidence in his national security adviser Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth, his Pentagon chief.
Asked if there were conversations about firing Mike Waltz, Donald Trump said, “I've never heard that. And nobody else makes that decision but me, and I've never heard it."
What's the Signal chat row
Mike Waltz mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic magazine, to a group text using the Signal encrypted messaging service where top officials were discussing plans to attack the Houthis.
During the chat, Hegseth included details on how the strike would unfold before it took place.
Afterwards, The Atlantic published an article on the internal exchange, shocking the national security establishment and hitting headlines across the world.
Trump suggested to oust Waltz?
Following a tumultuous day of headlines surrounding the now-infamous Signal chat, Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and senior personnel official Sergio Gor held a private meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening to discuss National Security Adviser Mike Waltz's misstep, according to a Politico report.
Vance, Wiles, and Gor gently suggested it might be time to part ways with Waltz, according to two sources familiar with the discussion cited in the report, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
While Donald Trump acknowledged the mistake, the president ultimately chose not to act on the advice to fire Mike Waltz—at least for now. The sources indicated that Trump's reluctance stemmed from one key factor: he was unwilling to give the liberal media or Democrats a "win" by dismissing the national security adviser.
“They don’t want to give the press a scalp,” the report quoted a White House ally close to the team.
White House insiders suggest that while Waltz is still employed, some administration officials are simply waiting for the right moment to let him go, perhaps once the news cycle quiets down.
One insider said: “They’ll stick by him for now, but he’ll be gone in a couple of weeks.”
Vance’s office declined to comment over the controversy. Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated Trump’s support for Waltz, stating in a statement, “President Trump continues to have the utmost confidence in his national security team, including National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.”
