Ex-Trump NSA Robert O’Brien Stands Up for Embattled, Biden-Appointed Successor Jake Sullivan: ‘A Smart Guy’

Former Trump White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien defended his successor, Jake Sullivan, from the criticism he has seen recently over the Biden administration’s handling of Afghanistan.

O’Brien gave an interview to Hugh Hewitt on Monday where he claimed former President Donald Trump wouldn’t have allowed Afghanistan to plunge into chaos like it has since the Taliban’s national takeover. At one point, Hewitt turned the conversation toward Sullivan, who has been one of the most visible figures defending President Joe Biden’s approach to Afghanistan.

“Over the weekend, unnamed sources — I assume they are from the appeasement wing of the Democratic Party, the hard left — want your successor, Jake Sullivan, fired as sort of a sacrificial lamb,” Hewitt said. “I believe that’s a terrible idea, because he’s one of the three people that I count on for trying to get information to the president that is coherent. What do you think of that idea?”

O’Brien responded by saying Sullivan’s firing would be “bad idea” while the Afghanistan crisis continues to unfold. He also called Sullivan “a smart guy” and gave him a degree of credit for acknowledging China’s threat to the U.S.

I think that’s a bad idea. We’re in the middle of a crisis right now. There’s plenty of time to figure out what went wrong, and Washington will play the blame game on this crisis for many, many years to come. But Jake Sullivan gets the China threat, which is the existential threat. We’ve got to keep our eye on the ball at this point. As bad as the situation is in Afghanistan, the existential threat to our country is China. Sullivan understands that. He’s one of the moderates in the room. He’s a smart guy. So let’s get through this crisis, and for the Democrats on the left in Congress, you know, according to the press, are calling for Jake’s resignation. I think that’s, that’s bad politics and it’s bad for the country. And I’d say they ought to knock it off and let’s all try and get us through this crisis.

Sullivan has been at the forefront of the White House’s attempts to defend Biden’s Afghanistan comments and the U.S.’ withdrawal amid ongoing chaos. This has prompted a great deal of scrutiny for Sullivan as well, and as Hewitt mentioned, there have some who’ve suggested he ought to be fired.

Watch above (start at 2:28:30), via The Hugh Hewitt Show.