Trump 'restrained', not firing advisor after group chat message leak?

US President Donald Trump considered firing national security adviser Mike Waltz but held off, partly because he didn't want to give his opponents a sense of satisfaction, a source said.

Axios on March 29 quoted sources close to the White House revealing that Mr. Waltz had conflicts with some senior officials, but the advisor's position is currently unshaken. Mr. Mike's task is now said to be to try to make things more serious at work.

Trump officials say the president was more upset that Waltz had journalist Jeffrey Goldberg's phone number than that classified information about a US military operation was leaked in the chat group.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (left) and President Donald Trump at the White House on March 7.

Mike Waltz has taken responsibility for mistakenly adding Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic , to a chat group on the Signal app, where many high-ranking US officials were discussing plans to attack Houthi forces in Yemen.

Waltz’s interview with Fox News on March 25 further complicated the situation. Trump had previously defended his adviser, claiming that Waltz’s staff had saved Goldberg’s phone number. However, the national security adviser later insisted that the staff was not at fault, and that he had created the Signal chat group and added everyone.

A senior US administration official said that if this were Trump's first term, Mike Waltz would have been fired. However, the White House boss understands that firing his subordinates now will create a basis for the media and opponents to feel satisfied and criticize, according to Axios .

President Trump has not commented on this information.

Mr. Waltz and US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Greenland on March 28. During the flight, Mr. Vance advised his colleague to “work more cooperatively,” according to a senior official. Among those unhappy with Mr. Waltz in the senior US administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is said to be among those in the administration.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-trump-kiem-che-khong-sa-thai-co-van-sau-vu-lo-tin-nhan-nhom-chat-185250330071031076.htm