Mike Waltz replaced as national security adviser
Newshour
BBC
4.4 • 984 Ratings
🗓️ 1 May 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has been demoted to UN Ambassador after a controversy involving sensitive military plans and a Signal group chat.
Also on the programme: the US and Ukraine clinch a natural resources deal but an agreement to end the conflict remains elusive; and with Roman Catholic cardinals readying to elect a new Pope, British author Robert Harris talks about his book Conclave.
And Newhour’s Julian Marshall presents his last programme after 51 years of reporting and presenting for the BBC World Service. We bid him farewell.
(Photo: US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz joins US Vice President JD Vance for a visit to the US military's Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on March 28, 2025. Credit: Reuters)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:07.2 | Coming to you live from our studios in central London, I'm Julian Marshall. |
| 0:12.7 | Donald Trump got through four national security advisors in his first term as president. |
| 0:18.3 | Mike Walsh has lasted just over 100 days. President Trump has announced that |
| 0:23.4 | Mr. Walsh would be moving from his current post to that of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. |
| 0:29.9 | As national security adviser, Mr. Walsh, has been the focus of controversy since a journalist |
| 0:35.8 | was mistakenly added to a signal messaging group chat |
| 0:39.8 | where sensitive military plans were discussed. There were calls for his resignation. But speaking |
| 0:45.7 | at a cabinet meeting at the time with Mr. Walsh in attendance, Mr. Trump downplayed suggestions |
| 0:52.3 | that he'd been careless. |
| 0:56.4 | No, I don't think he should apologize. |
| 0:58.7 | I think he's doing his best. |
| 1:02.7 | It's equipment and technology that's not perfect, |
| 1:05.9 | and probably he won't be using it again, |
| 1:08.0 | at least not in the very near future. |
| 1:08.5 | What are you going to? I agree with you. |
| 1:10.3 | Let's get everybody in the very near future. What are you? That, sir, I agree with you. Let's get everybody in the room whenever possible. |
| 1:14.9 | Well, I've been speaking to the BBC's Tom Bateman in Washington |
| 1:18.3 | and put it to him that what has happened made up a demotion. |
| 1:24.6 | It absolutely is a demotion as a national security advisor into the role of U.S. ambassador to the |
| 1:30.9 | United Nations. What it will require actually is a Senate confirmation hearing as well because |
| 1:36.7 | that role needs that. And it's also notable, I think, that clearly he leaves the post of national security advisor immediately, because |
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