Trump weighed firing Waltz over leak but chose to defy critics: Axios

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Axios
30 Mar 2025 13:06

Trump aides say he was more upset that Waltz had journalist Jeffrey Goldberg’s contact saved in his phone than about the exposure of sensitive military strike information.

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US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaks during a meeting with US President Donald Trump and US Ambassadors in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2025 (AFP)

US President Donald Trump seriously contemplated dismissing National Security Advisor Mike Waltz following the Signal chat leak this week but ultimately decided against it, in part so as not to give his critics any victory, insiders told Axios.

Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, said he was accidentally added to a chat on military strikes on the app Signal by Waltz and that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed strike plans through it.

Waltz has acknowledged that he was responsible for mistakenly adding Goldberg to the chat and clarified that it was not a staffer's error.

For now, Waltz’s position remains secure, the news website reported, though he has clashed with several senior officials. “Mike is gonna make it,” a key West Wing figure stated, adding, "Now it's up to Mike to make things better."

Trump aides say he was more upset that Waltz had journalist Jeffrey Goldberg’s contact saved in his phone than about the exposure of sensitive military strike information. Waltz’s unconvincing explanation during an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham only exacerbated the situation.

Trump was particularly infuriated by Waltz’s comments in the interview, where he promised to “figure out how this happened”—despite the fact that he was the one who mistakenly added Goldberg to the chat.

Axios mentioned that Vice President JD Vance and Waltz traveled to Greenland yesterday, and during the return flight, Vance advised Waltz on the importance of "working more collaboratively," according to a senior official.

The website revealed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also among those frustrated with Waltz.

Additionally, it added that prominent figures in the "America First" movement, such as Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, have long viewed Waltz with suspicion due to his neoconservative ties, and Trump's inner circle also disapproves of some of his staff choices.