It wasn’t just Signalgate that led to Mike Waltz being canned as President Donald Trump‘s national security adviser.
Before that scandal, Waltz had already angered Trump by going behind his back to talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about waging war on Iran, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Ahead of an Oval Office meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in February, Waltz engaged in “intense coordination” with Israel about its military options against Iran, according to the Post.
Waltz was trying to push “U.S. policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the U.S. hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution,” one White House insider said.
“It got back to Trump and the president wasn’t happy with it,” they added.
One unnamed Trump adviser suggested to the Post that the situation contributed to Waltz’s ousting from the top national security position this week.
“If Jim Baker was doing a side deal with the Saudis to subvert George H.W. Bush, you’d be fired,” the person said, referring to Bush’s secretary of state. “You can’t do that. You work for the president of your country, not a president of another country.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told the Post, “The President sets the agenda and it’s up to his Administration to implement those policies, and everyone was rowing in the same direction which is why he had the most successful First 100 days in history.”
Trump has signaled opposition to Israel attacking Iran.
The New York Times reported in April that Trump shut down an Israeli plan to strike Iranian nuclear site, which would have required U.S. support to carry out. He pushed instead for negotiating a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program.
The Post reported that Signalgate—which saw Waltz add a prominent journalist to a group chat where top Cabinet officials were discussing an impending strike on terrorists in Yemen—was the nail in Waltz’s coffin.
Trump has nominated Waltz to serve as an ambassador to the United Nations. He has named his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, as acting national security adviser, and it remains to be seen who will assume the role long-term.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s onetime golfing buddy, now a special envoy for the president, is reported to be one of the leading contenders.
The post Fired Waltz Enraged Trump by Talking With Israel Behind Back appeared first on The Daily Beast.
