‘I’m So Excited About This!’ Ousted Trump NSA Mike Waltz Cheerfully Traipses Through Fox News Hit Seconds Before Axe Falls

Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz did a cheerful and seemingly oblivious Fox News hit — right before news dropped that he’s been ousted from President Donald Trump’s administration.

Journalist and former ABC newsman Mark Halperin was first to report Waltz’s impending ouster on Thursday morning’s The Morning Meeting. By the next hour, multiple outlets reported the axe had fallen.

A matter of minutes before Halperin’s report, Waltz was a guest on Thursday’s edition of Fox & Friends, during which he very much seemed unaware his seconds were numbered:

BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS HOST: To expand on that as a guy that was there at the very beginning, right through the tape, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. Great to see you, Michael.

Your thoughts about what the audience should know about what this deal means to us here at home and Ukraine’s security.

MICHAEL WALTZ, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, Brian, this deal is good for the American taxpayer that is recouping the billions of dollars that we’ve put into supporting Ukraine. It’s good for Ukraine in helping it grow and helping it grow the pie in terms of its development and reconstruction. And it’s good for its security, where you have 50-50, the Development Finance Corporation with the Treasury Department that is investing in the critical minerals, the rare earth elements that the United States need and Ukraine needs for its future.

All of this nobody said could be done. President Trump said, get it done. And congratulations to Secretary Bessent, the entire national security team, that leaned into this and established this fighting, really, first of its kind in many ways deal.

KILMEADE: Judging by some of the statements that have come out of Foreign Minister Lavrov, talking about a need to declare that all land that they’ve stolen from the Ukrainians has got to be there, recognized by the international community, some of these things that clearly are non-starters. Are you guys rethinking about continuing talks with Russia?

WALTZ: Brian, the process is moving forward. Sometimes it ebbs and flows. You know, think about it, just a hundred days ago, nobody was talking. The NATO secretary general came to the Oval Office behind me and said, only President Trump could have brought both sides together.

We were here. We are moving closer and closer. Ambassador Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Rubio have been leading the charge with all of us in support and coordination. But yesterday was a momentous step. It should have happened a month ago with this minerals deal. And Russia needs to come to the table. Both sides have to want peace. Both sides have to want to stop the fighting. And we think there is still a deal to be had.

KILMEADE: Right. It looks like Ukraine gets the message, especially after the Vatican meeting. I don’t think the Russians are. It’s just from the outsider perspective.

All right, let’s talk about what is going on with the Houthi rebels. We’ve been bombing them pretty consistently since the middle of March. You had a thousand U.S. strikes on different targets. When are they going to start getting the message? And is the message really to Iran?

WALTZ: Well, you heard Secretary Hegseth that Iran needs to wake up. Iran needs to get the message that it can be a responsible country, that the president of the United States wants peace. He’s ready to make a deal and that it cannot have a nuclear weapon. Not only can it not have a nuclear weapon, it cannot provide funding, resources, missiles, and assistance to a terrorist organization that is attacking international shipping, attacking United States assets, shooting at our planes. Enough is enough, and the president’s been loud and clear. Secretary Hegseth is putting his message out loud and clear.

So, we sincerely hope Iran receives that message. And, again, our great ambassador, Witkoff, is waiting for them to come back to the table.

KILMEADE: There’s a big week. I mean, the one thing we heard about is modernizing the fighting force, being able to get technology working with the men and women like you who fight our wars. What could you tell us as a U.S. Army has re-exceeded its recruiting goals for three straight months and actually all across the military, every branch?

WALTZ: Well, this is just — Brian, this is — I’m so excited about this. This is leadership at its finest led by our commander-in-chief who loves the troops and they love him, Secretary Hegseth leading from the front, Secretary Driscoll, Army secretary that you had on earlier. I mean, again, we’re 100 days in and they are talking about modernizing the Army, counter-drone, electronic warfare, getting our troops, the things they need rapidly, cutting through the bureaucracy, consolidating a lot of these commands and headquarters that we don’t need. They are all gas, Brian.

And this is exactly what our modern force needs as it moves out of those protracted Middle East wars to deal with the modern warfare that we’re seeing, from space to cyberspace, to drones, to missiles, all of those in the hands of our war fighter now, using the latest technologies that are already out there commercially on the street. They — we’re seeing from companies like and Anduril, Palantir and others. We’ve just got to cut through the red tape.

As a veteran, I can tell you they deserve better. And you saw yesterday, congratulations to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who just served his last day in the military.

KILMEADE: Right. And I know you did this thing where you actually signed up for the National Guard after serving in Green Beret, so you never stop. I just think it’s pretty impressive. If people want to know the advantage of Silicon Valley and the A.I. execs helping out the administration, they’re now directly interacting with the Pentagon. I never thought we’d see this right.

Michael Waltz —

WALTZ: We’ve got to move faster and we’ve got to cut through the red tape. They deserve the best. Thank you.

KILMEADE: All right. Thank you, Michael Waltz. I appreciate it.

Watch above via Fox & Friends.