MAGA 'symbolism' behind national security advisor shakeup can't be ignored: columnist
An MSNBC columnist pointed out the painful "symbolism" represented by President Donald Trump's decision to replace Mike Waltz as national security advisory, a post he held for just over 100 days.
On Thursday, Trump announced that Marco Rubio would take over Waltz's post temporarily, while also serving as Secretary of State.
"The symbolism of Rubio taking Waltz’s job is almost too on the nose — even for this administration," wrote Michael A. Cohen. "It’s not merely an indication that MAGA world will flush out the unrepentant hawks who once dominated Republican foreign policy — and are now as close to extinction as the once-flourishing 'Republican free trade' caucus. It’s also a reminder that the key to staying in Trump’s good graces is to simply parrot — and help implement — whatever insane policy idea pops into the president’s head."
Many speculated that Waltz was made a "fall guy" for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following the Signalgate scandal when classified air strike information was shared via an unsecured app chat.
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But "Signalgate is hardly the sole reason for Waltz’s downfall," Cohen wrote, postulating that Waltz forgot the "cardinal rule of MAGA" — that "experience and intelligence matter little to Trump."
Cohen pointed out that Waltz, who "stood out from the MAGA crowd on matters of policy," should have learned how to survive in the White House by watching Rubio.
"In the not-too-distant past, Rubio was as much a foreign policy hawk as Waltz," Cohen wrote. "He, too, once talked tough on Russian aggression against Ukraine and supported U.S. foreign aid and, at one point in his Senate career, even tried to broker a compromise immigration bill. Now he says the conflict in Ukraine is 'not our war,' he has played a key role in demolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development, and he has zealously defended Trump’s illegal deportation policy."
Cohen concluded that in Trump world, "being an adequate foreign policy hand is as much a scarlet letter as it is a key qualification. Waltz’s mistake was in believing that there’s anything normal about our current political moment."