Fourth national security adviser ousted from White House in one week
Top advisers are leaving in droves leave while Trump tweets incoherently about war with Syria.
Like his legal defense team, Trump’s national security team is now unraveling.
At a time when Trump is tweeting in circles with incoherent, contradictory claims about pending missiles strikes against Syria, his National Security Council is being racked by resignations and firings.
On Thursday, it was reported national security aide Ricky Waddell is out. He follows three others who have jumped or been pushed out, just in the last week.
“Waddell, a Major General in the United States Army Reserve, who has run the daily operations of the NSC since last May,” Axios reports.
It’s all part of the larger purge that former Fox News contributor and Bush-era Iraq War cheerleader John Bolton is leading, since taking over as Trump’s top national security adviser. Not only has Bolton replaced ousted H.R. McMaster, but Bolton is essentially dismantling the top echelons of the National Security Council.
This week, senior official Nadia Schadlow tendered her resignation, just a few months after landing her job. And Michael Anton, who was in charge of the NSC’s strategic communications, also resigned.
On Wednesday, Homeland Security Adviser Tom Bossert was fired, also part of the Bolton purge.
“In a West Wing beset by chaos and dysfunction, Bossert was regarded as one of the few competent aides still standing” New York magazine noted.
More defections and firings are expected to roil the council in coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to advertise the fact he’s a complete neophyte when it comes to diplomacy and national security, as he makes a fool of himself this week with heated tweets about “smart!” missiles that he’s going to launch against Syria.
On Wednesday morning, Trump was all over the Twitter map, posting taunts about possible military strikes and warning Russia not to interfere in Russia, and then hours later downplaying his threats.
Russia responded by mocking Trump’s “Twitter diplomacy.”
Trump’s irrational tweets completely toppled the administration’s planned-out response to Syria’s latest alleged gas attack.
“Trump upended it all with a tweet — warning Russia, the Syrian government’s backer, to “get ready” because American missiles “will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!'” the Washington Post reported. “White House advisers were surprised by the missive and found it “alarming” and “distracting,” in the words of one senior official.”
Trump needs all the national security help he can get. But for now, his team’s imploding.
Recommended
Biden campaign pivots to focus on healthcare
President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is launching a new ad today with a focus on health care costs, part of a larger push by the campaign to persuade Americans that former President Trump would revisit his attempts to do away with the Affordable Care Act if (ACA) elected to a second term.
By Kim Lyons - November 30, 2023
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott drops out of 2024 presidential race
U.S. Sen. Tim Scott announced Sunday he is suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
By Robin Opsahl - November 13, 2023
Biden infrastructure law helps Pennsylvania’s small manufacturers
'This investment will help create jobs in our region, and it’s exactly the kind of funding we need to expand American manufacturing, innovation, and production,' Sen. John Fetterman said.
By Oliver Willis - October 20, 2023
