U.S. President Donald Trump has removed Mike Waltz from his role as National Security Advisor. Drew Thompson, a Senior Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, tells TaiwanPlus News that Waltz's departure will not fundamentally change Trump's policies. However, the incident behind his ouster reveals the U.S. government's inability to create secure communication platforms.
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00:00What's the significance of Mike Waltz being removed as a national security advisor, and what could it mean for U.S.-China relations?
00:07So Mike Waltz's move from the National Security Council to the United Nations doesn't fundamentally change the Trump administration's policies or President Trump's objectives or strategies.
00:21It's important to remember that the National Security Council is really responsible for coordinating elements of the bureaucracy.
00:29And it makes recommendations to the president. It's not a decision-making body.
00:35So it's not going to be that impactful, but we definitely want to keep an eye on who the replacement is.
00:41Mike Waltz faced backlash over the SignalGate scandal after the national security official shared intelligence on the Signal app.
00:49What does this say about Trump administration's handling of national security in the second term?
00:53It's the inability of the U.S. government to efficiently create software that serves its needs.
01:01The cabinet members in the Trump administration are not the first ones to resort to personal devices or personal emails or personal channels of communication.
01:14That's really a coping mechanism for outdated software computer systems that don't integrate well between agencies, as well as are kept updated with the trends of the time.
01:27It's a really big challenge within the government to get people able to fluidly communicate through secure channels between government departments.
01:38Maybe within a government department, it's easier, but there are no official U.S. government chat mechanisms.
01:45So the fact that they're using a convenient tool isn't surprising.
01:50With Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepping in as national security advisor, he's become the second person after Henry Kissinger to hold both the roles.
01:59What's your assessment of rapid rise of Marco Rubio?
02:02Well, Marco Rubio is clearly trusted by Trump.
02:06He is very capable.
02:08He's a good communicator.
02:10And he has good people working for him.
02:14So it's unsurprising that he steps up to fill gaps when called upon.
02:19And I think it's a good reflection on him.
02:23It's not optimal to have one person doing so many really critical jobs that deserve 100% of their attention.
02:30So hopefully they'll identify a capable national security advisor that can step in and get the government functioning at high levels again.