National Security Adviser Mike Waltz didn’t know the other shoe was about to drop when he cheerfully bumbled his way through a Fox News interview only moments before he was sacked.
The now-ousted aide seemed oblivious of his oncoming doom when he chatted with Fox host Brian Kilmeade. Only minutes after, the news broke that Waltz was booted from Trump’s inner circle.
The Fox interview seemed shockingly normal, with an unsuspecting Waltz gushing about a deal with Ukraine and ongoing negotiations with Russia.
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“Are you guys rethinking about continuing talks with Russia?” asked Kilmeade.
“Brian, the process is moving forward,” said Waltz. He appeared completely ignorant to the fact that even if talks do progress, he’ll no longer be part of them.
“Both sides have to want peace. Both sides have to want to stop the fighting. And we think there is still a deal to be had,” he added.
He was even more blissfully unaware when he discussed meetings with Iran.
“Our great ambassador, (Steve) Witkoff, is waiting for them to come back to the table,” he said, about the man who is expected to replace him.
“There’s a big week,” agreed Kilmeade. “What could you tell us as [the] U.S. Army has re-exceeded its recruiting goals for three straight months and actually all across the military, every branch?”
“Well, this is just—Brian, this is—I’m so excited about this,” Waltz said. “This is leadership at its finest led by our commander-in-chief who loves the troops and they love him.”
Little did he know that the very same commander-in-chief would soon be using his fine leadership to kick Waltz out of the White House.
Waltz came under fire mid-March when The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that Waltz had inadvertently invited him into a highly sensitive, confidential Signal messaging chat that discussed serious attacks in Yemen. He didn’t know at the time that the “Signalgate” fiasco would take him down.
The axe finally fell on Thursday when multiple outlets, including Fox News, reported that Waltz was officially out. Journalist Jennifer Griffin cited “incredible instability” and turmoil within the National Security Agency.
Alex Wong, Waltz’s deputy, was also fired from his role.
