Trump privately vents his frustration about Michael Waltz
President Donald Trump expressed frustration with national security adviser Michael Waltz on Thursday in conversations about his decision to withdraw Rep.
President Donald Trump expressed frustration with national security adviser Michael Waltz on Thursday in conversations about his decision to withdraw Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, according to two Republican sources with knowledge of the conversations.
Trump’s frustration is twofold, the sources said. The president is angry that Waltz fumbled a Signal group chat created to coordinate among senior national security officials. According to screenshots published by The Atlantic, a Signal user with Waltz's name added Jeffrey Goldberg, the magazine's editor-in-chief, to the group chat. The episode has created a multiday controversy for the White House.
But Trump is also annoyed that the race to replace Waltz in Congress is shaping up to be more competitive than it should be for Republicans — and next week's special election in Florida only opened up because Trump selected Waltz for his post in the administration.
Even though GOP leaders are confident the Republican candidate in that special election, Randy Fine, will pull off a win, Trump is still worried that the optics are fueling a negative narrative and making the party look bad, the sources said. Trump is holding tele-town halls Thursday night for Fine and another Republican candidate in a second Florida special election. Had Stefanik been confirmed as U.N. ambassador, it would have created another special election and removed a Republican from the tightly divided House amid efforts to pass Trump's legislative agenda.
The White House did not comment on questions about Trump's conversations Thursday.
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