Former Army Special Forces officer and Republican Florida representative Mike Waltz was removed from his post as national security advisor to President Trump Thursday. The spin from the leftist media was immediately that he was fired over his role in the “Signalgate” non-scandal—but Vice President JD Vance says that’s just not so.
Waltz was almost immediately announced as the new ambassador to the United Nations, and in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Vance said that it should be considered a “promotion,” not retribution for the Signal brouhaha.
He’s done his job, the VP said:
President Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser because the Floridian would be a “better UN ambassador,” Vice President JD Vance said Thursday — arguing that the former congressman’s nomination to rep the US in Turtle Bay could be considered a “promotion.”
“We brought Mike on to do some serious reforms of the National Security Council. He has done that,” Vance told Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier. “I like Mike. I think he’s a great guy. He’s got the trust of both me and the president, but we also thought that he’d make a better UN ambassador as we get beyond this stage of the reforms that we’ve made to the National Security Council.”
Watch:
What is @VP Vance's response to President Trump removing National Security Advisor Mike Waltz from his position & nominating him as the next US Ambassador to the UN?
— FOX News Radio (@foxnewsradio) May 1, 2025
He joins @BretBaier from South Carolina to share his response.
Listen now: https://t.co/Z9mdrA9yAX pic.twitter.com/ksSXK81bdN
The mainstream media was fervently hoping for their first “scalp” of the Trump administration—they’ve failed so far in their desperate attempts to take out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—but Vance said they’ll just have to keep trying:
“I think the media wants to frame this as a firing,” Vance said.
“Donald Trump has fired a lot of people. He doesn’t give them Senate-confirmed appointments afterwards. What he thinks is that Mike Waltz is going to better serve the administration, most importantly, the American people in that role.”
Related: Confirmed: Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Lands Plum New Role in Trump Administration
White House Closes Ranks to Defend SecDef Hegseth From Coordinated Attacks
As we reported, New York GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik was originally slated for the role of U.N. ambassador, but her nomination was pulled when Team Trump realized they could not afford to lose another strong voice in the House of Representatives. She took the news graciously and said she just wanted to keep winning:
"I have been proud to be a team player. The president knows that. He and I had multiple conversations today, and we are committed to delivering results on behalf of the American people. And as always, I'm committed to delivering results on behalf of my constituents," Stefanik said on "Hannity" Thursday.
Mark Twain is often given credit for this line (which isn’t actually what he wrote, but it’s still a keeper): “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
It would appear that the reports of Mike Waltz’s ouster from the Trump administration are exaggerated too.
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