President Donald Trump said Sunday that he plans to appoint a new national security advisor in about six months, telling reporters the former advisor, Mike Waltz, did not resign, but was instead tapped for an upgraded position as the administration’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Trump spoke with reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, where he was asked about several topics, including the trade deals, Mexican cartels and the national security advisor position.
One reporter asked the president about Waltz’s exit as the national security advisor, which the president said he was being selected for what he called a “higher position,” or an “upgrade.”
Trump also said Waltz did not make any mistakes, and, as the ambassador to the UN, he would do a good job.
“I didn’t lose confidence in him,” Trump said. “He’s going to the United Nations for a reason. To me, I think it’s personally, if I had assurance for myself… I’d rather have that job than the other.”
He also reiterated that Waltz did not resign, but instead, Trump moved him.
“There was no resignation,” the president said.
Waltz and other National Security Council staffers were ousted from their office on Thursday in the most high-profile executive office exits of the second Trump administration. Trump’s announcement on naming Waltz as U.N. ambassador unfolded just hours after the news began circulating.
Trump told reporters Sunday that he plans to appoint someone to the national security advisor position within six months, saying there are a lot of people who want the job, which works into Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s – the interim national security advisor – current responsibilities.
The president was specifically asked if White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller was being considered for the role.
“Stephen Miller at the top of the totem pole? I mean, I think he sort of indirectly already has that job… because he has a lot to say about a lot of things,” Trump said. “He’s a very valued person in the administration, Stephen Miller.”
The president was also asked if any trade deals would be announced this week, answering that there could be some coming.
But when pressed if he could say more about the deals, Trump held back.
During the gaggle, a reporter also asked if it was true that he offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to take care of the cartels.
“It’s true because they should be. They are horrible people that have been killing people left and right,” Trump said. “They’ve made a fortune in selling drugs and destroying other people.”
He explained that the cartels are responsible for importing fentanyl into the U.S., which has killed over 300,000 people this year.
Trump called the cartel members “bad news.”
“If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honored to go in and do it,” Trump said “I told [Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum] that I would be honored to go in and do it. The cartels are trying to destroy our country. They’re evil.”
The offer was ultimately rejected, which Trump said was because Sheinbaum is afraid of the cartels, so afraid that she “can’t even think straight.”
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