"Diplomatic Gangster": Mike Waltz, our UN ambassador, Talks DOGE-ing the U.N. and the Iran War

Summary

Pod Force One – “Diplomatic Gangster”: Mike Waltz, Our UN Ambassador, Talks DOGE-ing the U.N. and the Iran War

Host: Miranda Devine (New York Post)
Guest: Mike Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Date: March 25, 2026
Location: UN Security Council chambers, New York City

---

Episode Overview

This episode features a dynamic, in-depth conversation between Miranda Devine and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. Their discussion covers the inner workings and the future of the UN under current U.S. leadership, controversial reforms and “downsizing” efforts, moments of global crisis like the Iran War and the Israel-Gaza situation, China’s influence in international organizations, and Waltz’s personal journey and philosophy, rooted in his Green Beret background. The tone is candid, combative, and heavily America First, emphasizing accountability, the limits of U.S. involvement, and the challenges of contemporary diplomacy.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The U.N. Security Council: History, Reform, and the American Approach

[00:32]–[06:22]

• Waltz introduces the Security Council's significance, referencing moments like the Cuban Missile Crisis and Colin Powell’s Iraq War speech.
• He points out the rotating presidency (currently the U.S.), and highlights First Lady Melania Trump’s historic presence as president of the Council.
• Emphasizes the practical and symbolic reasons the U.N. should remain in the U.S.—better here than Beijing, Brussels, or Moscow.
• Discusses "burden sharing," with the U.N.’s potential to take on crises (like Haiti and Gaza), sparing American troops:

  "There are places around the world where I don't want American troops...You have a burden sharing mechanism here that I think we should take advantage of." (Waltz, 04:18)

Cutting the U.N. Down to Size

• The U.S. is pushing radical reforms—first-ever U.N. budget cut in 80 years, eliminating 3,000 bureaucrat positions, reducing peacekeeping forces by 25%, saving U.S. taxpayers $100 million:

  "We are dodging it and we're just getting started. 3,000 bureaucrats...are gone, 25% of their peacekeepers...are cut." (Waltz, 05:18)

• Push to focus the U.N. on its original mission: peace and stability, not sprawling bureaucracy or multiple climate agencies.

2. America’s Leverage and Financial Power at the U.N.

[07:04]–[08:16]

• Waltz explains how most U.S. power at the U.N. is exercised via resolutions and vetoes, shaping global mandates.
• References lack of American leadership in some prior administrations and the current Trump administration’s willingness to use the veto and financial leverage.

"With the backing of President Trump, we're wielding [the veto]. And also with that financial piece: look, guys, we're not going to pay for all this nonsense anymore." (Waltz, 07:54)

---

3. Combatting International Bureaucracy and Global Taxes

[08:16]–[11:06]

• Waltz recounts successfully blocking a proposed "global carbon tax on shipping" ("We'll stop it. We're going to kill that nonsense.") (Waltz, 08:26)
• Details a high-level campaign involving top U.S. officials:

  "We got Secretary Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright...We defeated it for now and we'll defeat it for good." (Waltz, 09:57)

• Proudly recounts being labeled "diplomatic gangsters" by EU officials:

  "The EU ambassador just stormed out of the room and called us diplomatic gangsters. Good. I took it as a—we're going to get T-shirts made." (Waltz, 10:18)

• Explains the strategic necessity of U.N. regulatory bodies for areas like aviation, maritime rules, agriculture, and telecommunications, stressing the need to "fight and win along the lines of our interest."

---

4. Withdrawing from and Reforming U.N. Agencies

[11:20]–[13:04]

• Deems some U.N. agencies “irredeemable” (e.g., World Health Organization, U.N. Human Rights Council) and describes the U.S. as "out" entirely:

  "The president has made the decision...they're irredeemable, they're unreformable. We're out." (Waltz, 11:55)

• Cites outrage with agencies dominated or infiltrated by adversaries (China, Iran, North Korea).
• Asserts America will not submit to international sovereignty—especially on matters like global vaccine policy.

---

5. China’s Role in International Bodies and American Pushback

[13:04]–[15:42]

• Describes Chinese infiltration of U.N. agencies, with China promoting junior officials and seeking long-term advantage.

  "On the Chinese, they are pushing a lot of kind of junior level folks in there and then trying to grow them from within." (Waltz, 14:04)

• Explains the U.S. fighting for pro-business leadership and defending intellectual property rights.
• In Gaza, emphasizes efforts to ensure U.N. aid doesn't go to Hamas, and credits the Trump administration for pushing for a comprehensive, U.N.-sanctioned 20-point peace plan:

  "We then took that 20 point peace plan and ensconced it into international law, which only really the UN is recognized around the world to do." (Waltz, 15:24)

---

6. Trump’s Diplomatic Style and the Israel-Gaza Peace Plan

[18:31]–[22:03]

• Trump’s unique role: Only he could unite the Gulf Arab nations, Israel, and other regional players:

  "Only he...could pull together the Gulf Arabs, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and the neighboring countries..." (Waltz, 16:03)

• The “Board of Peace” mechanism for the future of Gaza: international stabilization force, Palestinian polity not led by the PA, World Bank-managed funds for reconstruction.
• Noted effectiveness:

  "As I remind our European friends, they were all tripping over themselves to be standing there with [Trump] as the hostages were free and...the aid flowing." (Waltz, 21:25)

---

7. The Iran War: U.S. Strategy and Risks

[23:53]–[29:44]

• Waltz frames U.S. involvement as decisive and measured, emphasizing Trump’s consistent redline: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

  "If you look at [Trump's] history of the use of force, it was always after diplomacy was tried...He will not get us into a bad deal. He will always try diplomacy first...But he's also a president that stands by his red line." (Waltz, 24:16–26:39)

• Acknowledges internal Iranian divisions (“a lot of internal hand wringing and debate...on the Ayatollah's obsession with having a nuke”).
• On the odd rumor of the "gay Atollah:" Waltz distances himself from speculation but calls the Iranian regime “a really repressed and odd bunch” (29:55).

---

8. Regional Alliances and the Diplomatic Frontline

[29:44]–[36:29]

• Details how the Iranian regime’s current aggression has unified Gulf Arab states with the U.S. diplomatically and potentially for military action.

• Highlights the practical day-to-day diplomacy, coalition building, and the value of relationships:

  "Green Berets specialize in local tribes...You take three or four of us and embed us in a village...I take a lot of that training [to the UN]." (Waltz, 33:47)

• Frequent, direct communication with President Trump and Secretary Rubio, attests to a highly cohesive, action-oriented national security team.

---

9. Lessons from Afghanistan: Restraint and Leadership

[39:38]–[47:29]

• Waltz reflects on Afghanistan, his Green Beret experience, and the importance of "restraint" in power. Shares war anecdotes, including a harrowing decision to spare a child spotter in combat:

  "I was thinking of my kids...He was clearly unarmed. But do you call a cell phone a weapon in this case?...I told him, take a warning shot.” (Waltz, 47:52)

• Cites historic moments where American restraint prevented escalation (e.g., not going to Baghdad in Gulf War I, Cuban Missile Crisis).

  "Sometimes, especially in our politics...you take a step back or take the higher road." (Waltz, 51:54)

---

10. The Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal and Military Culture

[53:17]–[57:30]

• Criticizes the Biden administration’s “stubborn and incompetent” withdrawal:

  "It was how it was done and how stupidly badly it was done." (Waltz, 53:36)

• Anguish at the abandonment of interpreters and allies; “a scar on this generation of veterans.”
• Contempt for the loss of Bagram Air Base and Afghanistan's mineral wealth.

"President Trump was never going to give up Bagram...Can you imagine if they had an air base outside of Mexico City, would they have just given it up for free?" (Waltz, 55:45)

---

11. Personal Journey: Leadership, Family, and Service

[58:05]–[59:57]

• Emotional tribute to fallen comrades and his own working-class roots.
• Praises his mother and wife’s immigrant family as embodiments of the American dream.
• Reflects on service under a President who “puts diplomacy first but gives us the levers with a strong rebuilt military.”

  "There should be a direct line. Every day we're asking ourselves how is this in our interest?...That's the mentality that [Trump] takes. It's an honor." (Waltz, 59:57)

---

Notable Quotes

• "As much as we love and should kind of pound on this place and knock it back down to size, it is an 80 year brand. It is the entire world right here in...New York." (Waltz, 01:53)
• "We're not going to pay for all this nonsense anymore." (Waltz, 08:05)
• On EU anger: “The EU ambassador just stormed out of the room and called us diplomatic gangsters. Good.” (Waltz, 10:18)
• "Only [Trump] could pull together the Gulf Arabs, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and the neighboring countries, keep the Palestinians on side and keep the Israelis with Netanyahu's coalition all together on this." (Waltz, 16:03)
• On military and diplomacy: "Green Berets specialize in local tribes culture, have to speak multiple languages...I take a lot of that training [to the UN]." (Waltz, 33:47)
• "Sometimes, especially in our politics...you take a step back or take the higher road." (Waltz, 51:54)
• "There should be a direct line. Every day we're asking ourselves how is this in our interest?...That's the mentality that he [Trump] takes." (Waltz, 59:57)

---

Important Timestamps

• Security Council history and Trump-led reforms: [00:32]–[05:18]
• First ever UN budget cut: [05:18]–[06:22]
• Blocking the global shipping carbon tax, “diplomatic gangster” moment: [08:16]–[10:18]
• Global agencies and U.S. withdrawal (WHO, Human Rights Council): [11:27]–[13:04]
• Gaza peace plan, U.S. role, and international law: [15:24]–[17:14]
• Trump’s unique diplomacy style and Abraham Accords: [18:31]–[21:18]
• Iran War: strategy, red lines, coalition building: [23:53]–[29:44]
• Personal leadership lessons as a Green Beret: [39:38]–[47:29]
• The meaning and consequences of Afghanistan withdrawal: [53:17]–[57:30]
• Family, origins, and service values: [58:34]–[59:57]

---

Memorable Moments

• The “diplomatic gangster” label embraced as a badge of honor.
• The behind-the-scenes politics of the Gaza peace effort, Trump’s unique ability to convene adversaries.
• Waltz’s harrowing tale of moral ambiguity in combat: “take a warning shot” (restraint), and its ripple effects.
• Blunt condemnation of U.N. excesses and inefficiencies.
• Candid assessment of the generals through Biden’s withdrawal—a rare look behind official lines.

---

Conclusion

Ambassador Mike Waltz’s interview offers not just a glimpse into U.S. strategy at the U.N., but a broader philosophy: unapologetic American leadership, willingness to reform or reject international bodies, reliance on coalition building, and a soldier’s focus on restraint, local partnerships, and mission clarity. The tone is proud, combative, and resolutely focused on results for the American people—a perspective forged both in battle and the corridors of global diplomacy. This episode is a revealing window into how Washington’s leading disruptors seek to shape America’s role on the world stage.

Transcript

[Miranda Devine]

Hello and welcome back to Pod Force One. I'm Miranda Devine and today I'm coming to you from the United Nations Security Council. Joining me is US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz. Ambassador Waltz, thank you very much for joining Pod Force One.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, thrilled to be with you.

[Miranda Devine]

And we're in.

[Mike Waltz]

The last time was Air Force One.

[Miranda Devine]

It was actually, it seemed like a lifetime ago, really, but it was just a year.

[Mike Waltz]

They're Trump years.

[Miranda Devine]

Yes, exactly. Trump time. And we're in this amazing room. Explain where we are.

[Mike Waltz]

So we are in the chambers of the UN Security Council. This is the place where we have our Security Council meetings. There are five permanent members, the United States, UK, France, Russia and China. The UN was established post World War II to essentially make sure we never have a war again that had things like the Holocaust and the only exchange of nuclear weapons.

[Miranda Devine]

Yes.

[Mike Waltz]

On, on, on cities. And so I think, ironic that we're here today and we're here today. There's the five permanent members, we have vetoes. And then there are 10 members that are elected and rotate on and off from, from the rest of the world. But things like the build up to the, the Cuban Missile Crisis, you know, Khrushchev banging his shoe on the, on the podium happened right here, if you remember, the kind of the slam dunk from Colin Powell and build up to the Iraq War all happened, all happened in this room. A lot of history in this room, for better or for worse, unfortunately, but it's an iconic and historic place. We just had every month one of the countries rotates as the President of the Security Council. It's actually our month right now in March. And we opened with First Lady Melania Trump, who had a historic moment as the first ever First Lady. She was fantastic to preside over. Oh, it was amazing. You know, we got a little bit of grumbling and this and that about some of the topics, but it was full rock star treatment. You know, a number of the ambassadors were whispering behind the scenes, could they get a photo with her? Right. And so, you know, as much as we love and should kind of pound on this place and knock it back down to size, it is an 80 year brand. It is the entire world right here in, in the UN Right here in New York. There's more embassies in New York from around the world than there are in Washington D.C. because by treaty we have to allow countries like Iran, North Korea, Cuba and others.

[Miranda Devine]

Lucky us.

[Ad Read Voice 1]

Yeah, right.

[Mike Waltz]

To have access to, to this place.

[Miranda Devine]

I, I mean, you're not going to be the last ambassador to the UN from America, like Linda McMahon is going to close down the Education Department. Know, do we want to keep the UN and the US funds a fifth of it or more?

[Mike Waltz]

You know, it's one of those things that if we didn't invent it, somebody else would. That if we didn't host it here, I don't want to see a UN in Beijing or Brussels or Moscow or somewhere else. So, you know, from an America first standpoint, and I get asked, you know, I'm a former congressman, I get asked by not only my hardcore conservative relatives in North Florida, but my former constituents these same questions. And from an America first perspective, with a president who rightly puts diplomacy first, you need one place in the world where everyone can come and talk. And I want that one place to be in America, not somewhere else. Right? This is the only place that, that every foreign leader, as a New Yorker, you know, what we call High Level Week or UNGA or the UN General assembly, where every foreign leader in the world nightmare comes. It's a nightmare for traffic for sure. But every foreign leader comes here to America and gets together and works, tries to work things out. The other America first piece of it is burden sharing. And there are places around the world where I don't want American troops, but we have to deal with it, like Gaza, the president's 20 point peace plan, like Haiti, where gangs have completely taken over the island and are moving drugs, guns, thugs, not just in the United States, but into Europe and West Africa as well. I don't want to see American troops there like Bill Clinton tried to do. So, you know, you have a burden sharing mechanism here that I think we should take advantage of. So I guess my message is we should doge it. And we are, we're whacking it down to size. It's 80 years of a bureaucracy that's built up. But, but Marina, along those lines, we just got the UN to cut its budget for the first time in its history, 80 years.

[Miranda Devine]

You did dodge it.

[Mike Waltz]

We, we are dodging it and we're just getting started. 3,000 bureaucrats, headquarters bureaucrats are gone, right? 25% of their peacekeepers, these peacekeeping forces that they send from countries all over the Europe were cutting. So just those cuts alone will save the US taxpayer $100 million. So we're, we're not sitting on our laurels. We're cutting it down to size. But we also want to get it back to basics. As the President says, there's a lot of potential they should be cutting peace Deals around the world. Not just him. You know, some, some big things like Ukraine, Russia, that's going to take the United States. But a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand. The UN Secretary General should be there. The UN should be.

[Miranda Devine]

And why aren't they? I mean, what do they do apart from just maintain and feed this giant bureaucratic machine in this building? Well, it takes two hours to go through a million checkpoints for anyone to get in. It's, it's insane.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, well, that's why it needs to get. It needs, it's tried to become everything to everybody. There are seven agencies, not one, but seven, devoted to climate change. We're whacking those, we're whacking those back down. And what we call back to basics, let's end wars, keep the peace. If we need to put peacekeepers in, to kind of part the way so you can have a political solution. I don't want it to be American troops, but I also don't want these situations get out of control. We're getting it back focused. Let's do fewer things better. And its original mission was peace and stability post World War II. And that's what we're focused on getting it back to.

[Miranda Devine]

But how much power do you, as the US Ambassador have? You know, you're not the Secretary General. Obviously, America pays the lion's share of the money. But how much power and influence do you have?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, actually, most of the power and influence happens in this building. So we pass what's called resolutions. Those are the mandates that then the Secretary General, as a chief administrative officer, has to fulfill. So he essentially has to do what we direct out of, out of this room. It's a little bit of a, kind of a legislature and chief executive.

[Miranda Devine]

So he's like the Governor General.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And as the, as a veto, wielding power, meaning we can stop bad ideas that are against our interest. We can do that out of this room. But you've had administrations that don't wield it.

[Miranda Devine]

No.

[Mike Waltz]

Like they should. And with the, with the backing of President Trump, we're wielding it. And also with that financial piece like, look, guys, we're not going to pay for all this nonsense anymore.

[Miranda Devine]

Yes.

[Mike Waltz]

You know, I'm not going to go back to my relatives and taxpayers and, and, and tell them their money is being wasted or spending frivolously. So we're cutting and we're refocusing, reprioritizing.

[Miranda Devine]

You mentioned climate change. You managed to stop that crazy idea of having a global tax on shipping, but that's just been kicked down the road, isn't it?

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, but we'll stop it. We're going to kill that nonsense. But you're touching on a bigger point that everything that gets regulated or has standards for federally. And that's a nightmare in and of itself. And the Swamp of Washington D.C. imagine that internationally.

[Miranda Devine]

Right, right.

[Mike Waltz]

With the Europeans, Africans, Chinese and Russians, you know, all involved. So we have to get in these organizations and fight and win along the lines of our interest. Some people would ask, well, why do we need them at all? Well, let's take international aviation. I want the pilots around the world speaking English and landing the planes the same way and you know, maintaining the plane. So you need these standard setting bod. But what these other countries try to get in there and do is then advantage their industries and their companies. No, America first. We need to advantage ours. The, the example you raised. There's a little organization called the International Maritime Organization, a UN body that sets the rules of the road for shipping, ports, trade around the world. And they were within a week Miranda of putting a global carbon tax on container ships, tankers, I guess, to try to drive them towards evs. Really what it was was going to create a climate slush fund for the UN that would have been passed on to global consumers. How much would that have cost? A billion dollars a month.

[Miranda Devine]

Whoa.

[Mike Waltz]

That they would really. That they would have levied every consumer. We got Secretary Marco Rubio, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. We got everybody engaged. We got in there and fought. We defeated it for now and we'll defeat it for good. At the end of the day, our representative there called and said the EU ambassador just stormed out of the room and called us diplomatic gangsters. Good. I took it as a. We're going to get T shirts made. Right. Those are the. So you have an agency that regulates telecommunications and spectrum and space, low Earth orbit, where we have Starlink and other things. You have one that we just had. Secretary Brooke Rollins. What is our agriculture Secretary doing with the UN? Well, there's an agency called the Food and Agriculture Organization that basically acts as the world's fda. What you can and can eat, huge impact on our farmers and what they can export. The Europeans were in there mucking around and she said, can, can we do something about this? Heck yeah. We had her up here and we.

[Miranda Devine]

What did they like, climate?

[Mike Waltz]

No, it has a lot to do with GMO and those things and you change a few like words in the regulations and suddenly their farmers are advantaged and ours are disadvantaged. So.

[Miranda Devine]

And China I mean, remember at the outset of the pandemic, China really controlled the World Health Organization.

[Mike Waltz]

Right.

[Miranda Devine]

And the WHO was, was trusting Chinese

[Mike Waltz]

data and praising them or even ignoring or even just refusing to go demand the data from the Chinese. Right. That then would have impacted how we all responded much earlier and saved I think a lot of lives. So some of these organizations, Miranda, the president has made the decision and we've done a review. They're irredeemable, they're unreformable. Or out.

[Miranda Devine]

Like what?

[Mike Waltz]

Like who is one. We're out. We're just not going to participate in that. Not, I mean, they're trying to come up with a global, you know, a global vaccine policy that we have to hand over our sovereignty and submit, I'm not going to submit the health and welfare of the American people to some international unelected body. And the President has made that decision. We're out. The so called Human Rights Council that has the likes of Iran and North Korea and Cuba as members. They had, this was under the Biden administration and they let them do it. They had a George Floyd commission where they were sending UN investigators and the Biden team allowed it into our inner cities to pass judgment on our racist, you know, so called racist judicial system. We're out. We're out. We're not participating in this nonsense. We're definitely not paying for it.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

So some we have to get in there and fight like this International Maritime Organization, fight for our shipping companies and, and, and beat back this nonsense. And then others were just, we're done, we're out.

[Miranda Devine]

And how much has China infiltrated into those bodies and how much?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, those are the ones where we have to get in there and fight and win. Like the world Intellectual Property Organization business. Okay. You know, our entrepreneurs, our patents, you have an amazing invention and you want that intellectual property appropriately recognized around the world. This organization sets the standards. We have to get in there and fight and win. And we just advocated. We can't have an American running all of these organizations. But we have a pro business Singaporean, that's, that's in there that understands, I mean it's critical to our industries and our ability to compete around the world. So. And to your point, on, on the, on the Chinese, they are pushing a lot of kind of junior level folks in there and then trying to grow them from within. And again, that's another space where we have to fight. UNRA is in the category of we're not, we're going to make sure not a dollar goes to UNWRA this is the relief agency in Gaza infiltrated by. Secretary Rubio rightly said it was completely infiltrated by Hamas. They, they have a lot of the aid infrastructure in there, and we're seeking to essentially replace it. The one of the wins we had in this building was taking the President's 20 point peace plan. And if you remember, everybody was, you know, pounding the table for a ceasefire. How do we get the hostages out? How do we get some aid in there? And you know, thank God for, for Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio and the team that, that finally got that done. But we then took that 20 point peace plan and ensconced it into international law, which only really the UN is recognized around the world to do so again, kind of the why do we have this place? Why do we participate? That was really important. And not only do we get it done, we got it done 13 to 0 and the Russians and Chinese abstained. So why does that matter? Why do we even bring it to the un? Well, for a lot of these countries to contribute international peacekeepers, or in this case, to replace Hamas in Gaza according to their domestic laws and constitutions. You need the stamp of the UN to, you know, basically say that, sanitize it, to say that they can do it in accordance to their own, their own constitutions and laws. And we did that.

[Miranda Devine]

And, and how's it going? Because we don't hear much about Gaza at the moment.

[Mike Waltz]

Well, it is always going to be tough, but it certainly is better than it was. Right. You know, when you had, you had, and this is what I told all of the countries here, you have two choices. Either Hamas continues to rule Gaza with all of the death and destruction and chaos that that brought, or you have the idf, you know, the Israelis in there, and a permanent occupation, not good either. Or why don't you guys work with us on a third way that President Trump and his team has laid out, which is the Board of Peace. And only he really, Miranda, only he. I've been doing this a long time in the military and in, and in Congress and in business. Only he could pull together the Gulf Arabs, countries like Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and the neighboring countries, keep the Palestinians on side and keep the Israelis with Netanyahu's coalition all together on this. And we kept it all together. It's under the Board of Peace. And what did it do? Well, you have the International Stabilization Force, which is this kind of grouping of peacekeepers that will go in and keep security from what countries? Well, right now we have pledges from Indonesia, from Azerbaijan, from Italy, who has a police force portion from Morocco and a number of others that will.

[Miranda Devine]

And that's under the U. N. Banner.

[Mike Waltz]

Well, it's going to be under the board of Peace Minor which President Trump leads, that then ultimately has been blessed in international law by the UN Gets a little wonky, but that's how it will, that's how it'll work. So you have that international stabilization force. You have a kind of governing body of Palestinians, not the Palestinian Authority, but ones that we have all worked together to collect or to select a political body. And importantly you have a funding piece managed by the World bank that's that many of the Gulf Arabs and others are going to contribute to for reconstruction. And you now have the humanitarian aid flowing that have exceeded what the UN Said was the baseline now for almost four months. So huge steps in the right direction. And what I love about the President is he doesn't just kick the can. He doesn't just describe the problem and say, well let's have a strongly worded press conference or you know, statement here. He's, I mean they're actually putting the pieces in place that could no guarantee that could actually solve this problem so that our kids and grandkids aren't talking about it and dealing with it.

[Miranda Devine]

And you mentioned about President Trump and how he uniquely was able to amass

[Mike Waltz]

this group and he did that here during unga. Yeah, he did that here.

[Miranda Devine]

So how. So tell me what that was like. You, you were there in the room. What is it about ability? How does he do it?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, I think he does two things from what I've seen and you know, my prior job and really being with him day in and day out and also in, in Congress.

[Miranda Devine]

When you were national security.

[Mike Waltz]

When I was national Security advisor. Right. You know, one, he has invested in those relationships. Look at what Biden did. I mean he, he flat out insulted the Saudis day in and day out and then suddenly no reason, gas prices were, were going the wrong way and he goes over there, hat in hand. Yeah. Total opposite of that. He, he, he respects them as foreign leaders. He respects where they're coming from. You know, if we have America first, they have you name the country first. Right. And he tries to bring deals together that works for, for everyone and they respect that. But he invests in those relationships and he built on what he did first term in terms of the Abraham Accords. And if you remember, you talk about conventional wisdom.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

All of the so called experts, all of the Washington Swamp said, you can never bring the Arabs and Israelis together until you solve the Palestinian problem in the two state. It just, it was sacrosanct, baked, you know, set in concrete. Those were the rules. Well, he totally turned that on its head and said, no, we're going to set that problem aside. And there's all kinds of other interests that the Arab and Israelis have. One, they're really worried about Iran, but two, they have commercial interests. And when he puts that commercial diplomacy first, Business binds people.

[Miranda Devine]

Yes.

[Mike Waltz]

And the more he gets them talking about ports and rail and data center and regional trade and creating local jobs, then, you know, they came together and they and formed the Abraham Accords. And so to build on that, he had the Gulf Arabs, he had relationships with Sisi, he had a relationship with Erdogan, he had built a relationship over the peace deal between or the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and was able to pull all of those together really with the force of his personality and vision.

[Miranda Devine]

Hmm.

[Mike Waltz]

Here during the UN General Assembly. And that formed the basis then for Sharm El Sheikh, which is where he put the 20 point plan in and then form the basis for a historic Security Council.

[Miranda Devine]

Were amazing.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

I mean people were really, it's almost like he was the king and they were coming and sort of pledging allegiance to him. That's what it looked like on camera.

[Mike Waltz]

As I remind our European friends, they were all tripping over themselves to be standing there with as the hostages were free and pulled out of those God awful tunnels, as they finally got the ceasefire in place, finally got the aid flowing and set a vision for a reconstructed Gaza that wasn't going to have rockets launching from it anymore that will actually serve its people. So we saw all of Europe, you know, just, you know, tripping over themselves to show up. But then when I try, then when I try to put a Security Security Council resolution here, we get a lot of hand wringing from the French and from others, but that's okay.

[Miranda Devine]

To all our female podforce One viewers and listeners, this is about a sports bra. Pretty bad if you have one that doesn't fit. And getting the thing on and off is dreadful. Well, Honey Love is brilliant with their bras and shapewear. And they've done it again with their Cross Flex Activity bra. It's supportive without being tight or stiff or suffocating. And it's designed for all day wear. The easy hook and eye back means you don't have to wrestle it over your head. And Honey Love's wireless cloud fuse bonding provides support without digging or poking. They sent me a bra. I've tried it for a couple of weeks. It's fantastic. Very easy. You hardly know that you've got it on. I trust Honeylove for all my bras and shapewear and and their Crossflex Activity bra is now a staple as well. Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shapewear on the market. Use our exclusive link to save 20% off [e-mail] podforceone that's honeylove.com podforce1 after you check out, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Experience the new standard in comfort and support with honey.

[Ad Read Voice 2]

Love Vital Farms Farmers do a lot for their hens, like giving them open pastures with lots of fresh air and sunshine. Because who doesn't love a good sunbathe, a stretch and a breeze through their feathers while foraging on a natural buffet of grasses. One thing is for sure, all that extra care means good eggs for you. So look for the black carton in the egg aisle and visit vitalfarms.com to learn more. Vital Farms Good Eggs no shortcuts

[Miranda Devine]

so fast forward to today. We're in the fourth week of the Iran war, or excursion as the President likes to call it. How are we going to be assured that we're not heading for a quagmire when you know there's credible reports coming out of the White House that there are going to be troops on the ground, at least in Carg Island.

[Mike Waltz]

So a few things. One, we know this president. We should trust him and his team. If you look at his history of the use of force, it was always after diplomacy was tried. He tried diplomacy with this regime last year and they refused. And you had Operation Midnight Hammer in out decisive and in real results.

[Miranda Devine]

If you look ultimately wasn't enough.

[Mike Waltz]

Well, you know they are determined to have a bomb and we've seen that over and over again. They are offered all kinds. What this president will not do is accept a bad deal for the American people and the jcpoa. The Obama Iran deal was a bad deal. Had he not gotten us out of that, they would have been flush with billions of cash that they pump into terrorist organizations all over the Middle east and all over the world. Remember, this was the regime that tried to assassinate him. Actually the assassin was just convicted in a Brooklyn court right down, right down the street. Was arrested just before the Butler shooting, which I've always found a coincidence. Almost too much to be believed.

[Miranda Devine]

Can we do a Quick sidebar on that. Me too. I mean, I think most Americans are puzzled about Butler and aren't satisfied with the answers. I don't think the president was satisfied with the answers that this is just some 20 year old kid who acted alone.

[Mike Waltz]

Well, in the coincidence I was referring to is that the Pakistani hired by Iranian intelligence, the Pakistani operative who was then recruiting shooters to essentially take a sniper shot at a rally, he had a drawing, was arrested within 48 hours of the Butler shooting. Now that has got to be the world's biggest coincidence. I will, I will defer to, you know, Cash Patel and the Secret Service and others who can go much deeper than I can in sitting in this job. But the point is the Iranian regime was doing everything they could to assassinate him. They have operatives in our territory. They would have been flush with billions of cash from the Iran deal and all of the provisions of it would have now expired.

[Miranda Devine]

Yes.

[Mike Waltz]

Right. So he will not get us into a bad deal. He will always try diplomacy first, as he did. But he's also a president that stands by his red line. And I don't think it should surprise anyone, whether it's on the right or the left, that he believes Iran cannot have a nuke. He said it in his 2016 campaign. He said it in his 2020 campaign and his 24 campaign. In fact, we added it up. He said it 74 times since he's been in office this time. And when it became clear that they were playing for time, that they intended to rebuild their program, that. And I want to say this because I truly believe it to be the case. Had Iran ever tested a nuke, then you would have had the Saudis, maybe even the Emirates, the Turks and others. You would have had a Middle east awash with nukes. And if that doesn't petrify every American, it should. Because that is a world that I don't want our kids or grandkids growing up in. And I'm thankful, you know, so many other presidents would say this is politically risky or, I don't know, let's kick the can to the next administration to deal with. I'm thankful we have a president that says, let's take care of this problem for good now while we can, rather than waiting like we've seen now with North Korea and others, where you have far, far more limited options.

[Miranda Devine]

But there's a school of thought that, you know, once you've poked the hornet's nest and sort of eliminated, as the Israelis have been doing, all the sort of more reasonable, I Guess people at the top that you could negotiate with, you're just left with these even more extreme hotheads that you can't negotiate with. How strong do you think our Gulf allies, Saudi Arabia and so on are in withstanding Iranian aggression?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, to your Iran or first point, I would never call the Ayatollah or the people that are right around them reasonable in any way, shape or form,

[Miranda Devine]

comparatively to the younger one.

[Mike Waltz]

I mean they're all hardliners to one, one degree or another. But you know, President Trump is going to box them in and then build a golden bridge to, to a, I think to a deal that works for the American people. I'm absolutely convinced and I'm seeing it.

[Miranda Devine]

And two negotiating irgc, or is it.

[Mike Waltz]

It's a, It's. There are folks within, in the regime that want to survive and that's good. There was a lot of internal hand wringing and debate on their side on the Ayatollah's obsession with having a nuke. I mean, and he was absolutely obsessed, no matter what it cost them. So I, I will never shed a tear that he's gone. Guy who tried to kill the President, responsible for thousands of US soldiers dead.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

Uh, and was obsessed with holding the world hostage. And not to mention, I mean they open every parliament with death to America.

[Miranda Devine]

Right. And how ironic that the rumor is now his son, the, the new Ayatollah is gay. The gay Atolla.

[Mike Waltz]

I can't speak to that one.

[Miranda Devine]

Have you heard anything?

[Mike Waltz]

But I, I can't, I can't speak to that one. But I gotta tell you, it's a really repressed and odd bunch of there. And they are religious fanatics in many, many ways. I do want to address your point on our Gulf Arab allies. They're standing strong. I think this shoot in all directions approach from the Iranian regime is going to, over the long term really backfire. Why? Because a number, because of the neighborhood they sit in and some shared economic interests like Qatar that's sharing the world's largest gas field with Iran, always took a little bit of a neutral approach. They wanted to kind of tiptoe carefully. Well, now that Iran has fired at their hospitals, hotels, ports, airports, neighborhoods, they've had it. Iran is now a declared enemy. In this room they stood strong and publicly condemned Iran and the regime for its abuses. And with a UN record 135 nations standing with them the most ever. Look, just a few months ago, the Gulf Arabs were fighting a lot amongst themselves. Now they are completely unified and standing with us and standing with each other. And why does that matter? Because I know a lot of people say, okay, so what? Strongly worded resolution, whatever. Once they come together very publicly and diplomatically, that sets the stage then for unified economic action and perhaps even unified military action. And so that all starts with here on the international stage in accordance with international law. And so it's a really, really important first step. And this is where diplomacy can work because it shows how isolated Iran is. Russia and China sitting right behind me, had the opportunity to veto it, and they chose not to. They backed away and let us, and let the Gulf Arabs take that action, which was really important. So how involved and with friends like those, then. Yeah, yes, right, yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

But how involved have you been in, in, in these negotiations and, and so on with the Iran war? Are you? Intimately world.

[Mike Waltz]

We are definitely involved, but at the same time, I want them to lead. And they did lead. Bahrain is on the council. It's one of the, the, the elected members of the council. They'll be on for two years. Bahrain led the effort. They gathered their Gulf allies so that they could agree on the approach, agree on the strategy, agree on the text, and then went and got 135 other nations to, to side with them and just show how isolated Iran is. And the other reason, one of the, what happens here can be important is that language then is used as the basis for, for domestic legislation, for their foreign policy stances. So it not only is the group here, but then as other countries are dealing bilaterally with Iran, whether it's on trade, military, shipping, or what have you, once the UN has spoken and their countries voted for it, it gets kind of baked into their foreign policy.

[Miranda Devine]

So how do you operate? I mean, this is new for you. You, you've been here since September, so just a few short months.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

Do you, do you personally lobby or have coffees with or how do you interact with the people from other countries like Bahrain and so on and the Europeans?

[Mike Waltz]

So it's interesting you ask. I'm, I think the first veteran, first soldier to come kind of come from a military background. Then this, you know, real seed of diplomacy.

[Miranda Devine]

And you're not just a soldier, you're a warrior diplomat.

[Mike Waltz]

As a warrior diplomat, yeah. Right. And I really fall back on my training often as a Green Beret. And we are different and unique as Green Berets and, and the kind of special operations world in that, you know, SEAL Team six, what they did to Osama bin Laden in and out, middle of the night, two bullets on his forehead. They're back. Green Berets specialize in local tribes culture, have to speak multiple languages. We're the ones. You take three or four of us and embed us in a village or embed us in a tribe, and we'll train 10,000 of them. You have to do that by being able to walk in their shoes, by understanding where they're coming from, working, as we call it, by, with and through proxies, allies, tribes, local militaries. And so I take a lot of that training, whether it's the. I called it when I was in Congress, the tribes of Afghanistan and Africa or the tribes of the swamp, which is worse. Yeah. I don't know.

[Miranda Devine]

Now the tribes of the U.

[Mike Waltz]

And now we have the. The international tribes here. But really, it's understanding their, their structures, you know, how they wield power and leverage what our relationships are, both bilaterally, what our priorities are, where the President is, where Secretary Rubio is, and, and pulling all of that together into what can be a very complicated but fascinating.

[Miranda Devine]

And you do it on the phone or in meetings?

[Mike Waltz]

Oh, gosh, I do it in meetings. I do it on the phone. I do. We have other ambassadors here that kind of serve as deputy ambassadors and, and deploy them out.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

But a lot of it is through relationships. And again, I go back to President Trump when he has those relationships with the head of state, whether it's with. Whether it's Muhammad bin Zayed at UAE or MBS in Saudi or with the Prime Minister of Japan. You can get so much done with the power of his relationships and the fact that he's on the phone with Macron and Starmer. Yeah. You know, everybody. I mean, he is moving at a pace.

[Miranda Devine]

How often do you talk to him?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, you. As, you know, with him, it's either text or talk.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

But it's, it's, it's every week, every two weeks, it's checking in and making sure I've got guidance from him. But I also, you know, we have Secretary Rubio who is constantly there. Right. With him.

[Miranda Devine]

Constantly talking to you.

[Mike Waltz]

Constantly talking. But also because I have relationships with, with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Massad Boulos, who really has the Africa file for him, where the UN is quite active. Those, you know, to, to be able to kind of get the latest and understand their perspective, and then how we can support is incredibly important.

[Miranda Devine]

A lot of skin care looks good on paper, but it doesn't deliver. And somehow we're told we need 10 different products for real results. That's why One Skin stood out to me. Founded by PhD longevity scientists, the brand focuses on real science, not hype. They asked, if visible aging is driven by damaged senescent cells, why not target them directly? That research led to OS01, their proprietary peptide designed to slow skin aging. At the source, I was drawn to the Science first approach and clinical backing, and I've been using the OS01 face for a couple of weeks now and I love it. I love how lightweight and smooth it feels on the skin and my skin looks more even, resilient. It's simple and effective and refreshingly straightforward. Born from over a decade of longevity research, OneSkin's OSO1 peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthier skin now and as you age. For a limited time, try one skin with 15% off using PodForce One at OneSkin Co PodForceOne. That's 15% off with OneSkin Co when you use code PODFORCE1. After you purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you how many discounts does

[Mike Waltz]

USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, New vehicle discount, Storage discount.

[Ad Read Voice 1]

How many discounts will you stack up,

[Miranda Devine]

Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autodiscounts restrictions apply so you really are uniquely and perfectly positioned, you know, with your cv. I don't know if people quite understand because you've had so many hats, your military pedigree. I mean you really saw brutal combat in Afghanistan. You were one of the first people in there as a Green Beret. Just take us back to Afghanistan and what your training taught you and how you dealt with those. I mean I've been to Afghanistan during the war just before the surge and went all over with Australian troops and interviewed General Petraeus. But you know, very brutal, ugly place, like a moonscape. Horrendous to think you have to spend a long time there and the people are so suspicious and just not very pleasant. I guess they didn't like us foreigners being there. Fair enough.

[Mike Waltz]

I found a yes and no. I found just on the people. They got a taste of freedom. The women there in particular got a real taste of what a future could look like. And I how tragic that. How tragic, right? How truly tragic on so many levels, both for the sacrifice and and blood and treasure that we made to ensure another 911 could happen. And I do want to say as a quick aside to all the veterans out there, and I know many love and watch Your podcast, it was not for vain, not in vain and not for nothing. You know, being here in New York, as we approach the 25th anniversary of 9 11, for an entire generation, they kept the problem over there. Right. And, you know, one of the lessons learned and that we will, you know, to answer your question on Iran or everything else, Venezuela, everything else, the President is trying to solve my generation. And you have many now in this cabinet. You have Vice President Vance, you have Pete Hegseth, you have Lee Zeldin, you have Tulsi Gabbard that saw the policy drift, that found ourselves over there going, what in the hell are we, you know, we're going to fight for the men and women to the left and the right. We're going to win the battle, but we didn't win the war. Right. And, and so now to apply those lessons, to be in a position to advise the President on the policy or make policy, I think that actually should give the American people some comfort, because the generation that suffered from that policy drift is now actually, you know, helping the President call the shots.

[Miranda Devine]

But they don't all. I mean, Joe Kent's just spectacularly resigned and very against the Iran war, claiming that, as Tucker Carlson does and others, that the President was basically tricked into or pressured into attacking Iran by Bibi Netanyahu.

[Ad Read Voice 1]

Yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

What do you mean?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, look, number one, no one can question not only Joe's, but his wife, Shannon's, his deceased wife Shannon's contributions and devotion to this country and so.

[Miranda Devine]

And integrity.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah, absolutely. And I, I don't question. I know Joe helped him after, when I was in Congress, after the loss of his wife. But at the same time, I don't think for a second anyone should believe that anyone world leader, advisor, otherwise, is walking into the Oval and pushing President Trump around. He makes it clear, and I want to make it clear these are his calls, and that's just not how it works. And I've been in the room where he's given Bibi the business. We all saw it when prime minister called the Prime Minister of Qatar, for which there is no love lost, and apologized for the hit in downtown Qatar. President Trump's call in the shots. He is commander in Chief, period. And so he's not a controllable person.

[Miranda Devine]

I think that, I mean, I just defy characters.

[Mike Waltz]

We've, we've seen all of this. If we don't like the decisions he's take, there's people out there that, oh, it must have been some advisor that was manipulating him or some other world Leader. I'll just leave it at that. It's just not how it works. It's not how he works. But we also know, you know, on the left, they like to paint this narrative that he's just the opposite narrative that, that he doesn't listen to anybody. And he's kind of this old stubborn guy that's determined in his ways. He listens to everybody. You know, he's talking to people at night, he's talking to people first thing in the morning. He literally doesn't sleep. It can be really exhausting. God bless Susie while she's defying gravity in, in what she's, what she's doing to execute his vision. But he listens to everyone. But he makes the decision, period.

[Miranda Devine]

So sorry, got sidetracked. But back to you in Afghanistan because I had started reading your book Hard Truths, which is amazing, like such a good. It's your lessons from being a Green Beret, but a lot of really gritty anecdotes about your time in Afghanistan in combat.

[Mike Waltz]

Right. And in Africa too. And we shouldn't lose sight of what's going on, going on there.

[Miranda Devine]

So what did you learn in you as a Green Beret, what makes a Green Beret special? You mentioned the difference between Rangers, you know, and Navy SEALs and.

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

And you write in the book that if you have like this exercise with a wall, can you.

[Mike Waltz]

Oh yeah, yeah. Well, it's, it's this, you know, a new Secretary of Defense that comes in and you know, asks his new team, what's the difference in the Rangers, the, the, the seals and the, in the Green Berets. And there was a Green Beret General there. And he invites the Secretary out. I'll try to make the story quick, but he invites the Secretary out to a portion of the Pentagon that's under, under renovation. And there was a new wall that was put in Sheetrock drywall. And he, he grabs this, this Ranger and says, hey, Ranger, take down that wall. This guy's 240 pounds. These guys are built like linebackers. He gets in a three point stance and just crashes through it and has blood trickling down his forehead. And the Secretary is like, oh my God, we have battalions of those. Yes, we do. Then he asked the SEAL and, and, and the SEAL grabs a sledgehammer and finds a point in the wall and takes it down. Okay, that's impressive too. Then he asked the Green Beret, the Green Beret sergeant who tends to be much older and has been around for a while, goes and talks to the local Construction guy gives him 20 bucks, he hops in his. He hops in his little bulldozer and just goes and plows through three walls. Right. And it's, it's the kind of that by, with and through mentality. Right. And, and Green Brain Sergeant didn't. Didn't break a sweat. And it's kind of is supposed to be kind of a funny ex of how we work with locals, we work with proxies. We have to understand them and get them in line with our efforts. Right. Almost like teachers with guns that, that will train people to do that for us. And so here, how do we get these coalitions of nations, whether it's Pacific Islanders and what we're doing vis a vis China, whether it is African nations on critical minerals, but also counterterrorism, we're always wrestling these days with Europeans who have got to step up. We cannot afford to do it all by ourselves anymore. And it's building those coalitions in line. It's not that different from Congress as well. I like to think I got a few things done. Yeah. When I was in the House. But also an important part of the Green Beret mentality is what I call bottoms up leaders, leadership. Empower those who are either in business, when I was in business, closest to the sale, closest to the customer, closest to the profit that you need to bring in, or now in diplomacy, those that are. This is the only place in the world here with our embassy to the UN where you have. Every day, our folks are, are dealing with the North Koreans, the Iranians, the Cubans, Russians, the Chinese, Africans, European, right here in New York on, on the world stage. That doesn't happen anywhere else. So I end every meeting with what do you need from me? What authorities, what decisions, what resources do you need for me to empower you? And that's what we do with our special operators. Right, Right.

[Miranda Devine]

Is that what you said to warlords? What do you need from us to me?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, with conditions with the warlords, I'm talking about with our soldiers. Yeah.

[Miranda Devine]

So in, in your book, you. You give an anecdote in a chapter called restraint. And I think you regard restraint, when you're very powerful as an important quality. Can you briefly tell us the story of the little boy?

[Mike Waltz]

Yeah. This was a mission that we were in, in Afghanistan. We were basically told hold the flank. We knew the Taliban were going to try to come up our rear with Al Qaeda partnered with them. And it was just in this mission, three Americans partnered with 90 Arab soldiers partner with another 180 Afghans. So closest I'll get to Lawrence of Arabian. Talk about being alone and afraid sometimes. And we were told to hold the line. Sure enough, we started taking mortar fire and it started walking in closer and closer. And very quickly one of my snipers spotted a little boy up on a hill, maybe 10, 12 years old. Every time he brought up binoculars and a cell phone, another round came in. And very quickly my sniper asked me for permission to take the kid out because clearly he was the spotter. He was on a 50 Cal Barrett. And for our shooters out there, I mean that round would have, I would have split that kid in half. And he asked for permission. I was thinking of Mike kids. I was thinking, you know, what was going on with this. He was clearly unarmed. But do you call a cell phone a weapon in this case? And I told him, long story short, I told him, take a warning shot. After my sniper called me, everything under the sun, he took a warning shot, the kid ran away. We chased him into his village. The round stopped. So clearly it was him. And it turned out the Taliban had been there that morning and told all the families, give us your oldest son to go attack the Americans or else. One family had refused and they hung their seven year old little boy. It was brutal. Now look, those are the split second decisions. Was it the right call? I think restraint was the right call in that moment. If I were sitting in the living room with one of my Green Berets that had been killed by one of those mortar rounds and I tell that story for one, those are the decisions we're asking our leaders to make. Number two, President Trump in his first term pardoned some, some officers that were convicted for supposedly making the wrong call, if you remember those cases, and just shows his, how in touch he is with these situations. But then I talk about, in the chapter, I talk about moments of restraint in our history. Bush senior, after the Persian Gulf War was heavily criticized for stopping in Kuwait and not going all the way to Baghdad. Turns out, I think history. How wise, how wise that was. MacArthur, if you remember, wanted to hit mainland China in the Korean War and Truman, very politically unpopular, fired him for it. I think also quite wise, I mean Grant and Lee who, you know, showed let them leave with their weapons and, and didn't humiliate. Yeah, the, the, the army of the south, which could have led to guerrilla warfare for, for many, many decades. So, and then my, I, I think my favorite in the Cuban Missile Crisis, there was a Russian officer, there was a miscommunication and the Soviet submarine had nuclear tipped torpedoes. They thought they were under attack. And the submarine captain ordered his officer to turn the key and launch a nuclear torpedo into our blockade fleet during the Cuban missile crisis. That Soviet officer refused and I would argue save the world. Yeah, by that. By that refusal. So it's just all of these episodes of restraint and sometimes, especially in our politics. Yes, sometimes you take a step back or take the higher road.

[Ad Read Voice 1]

Hey, John Stamos and Colegard here. So look, you're 45 or older and at average risk. You know what that probably means? It's time for colon cancer screening. Look, it doesn't start at 55 or 50 or even 46 if you're 45. You've got to prioritize getting screened because if it's found early, it's highly treatable. So get going. See if cologuard is the right test for you.

[Ad Read Voice 3]

Wherever Bud goes, his harmonica goes with him. It's a pocket full of soul. Now he's living with prostate cancer. He asked his doctor about xtandi. Enzalutamide. Xtandi, 40mg tablets, treats men with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and responds to a man. Medical or surgical treatment to lower testosterone. Xtandi may cause serious side seizure, a brain condition called press allergic reactions, heart disease that can lead to death, falls and bone fractures, swallowing problems or choking that can lead to death. Stop Xtandi and get medical help at once. If your face, tongue, lip or throat start swelling, tell your doctor at once. If you faint, have a seizure, quickly worsening headache, decreased alertness, confusion, vision problems, chest pain or discomfort or shortness of breath. Extending Xtandi can cause harm to an unborn baby or miscarriage. Use birth control during and three months after Xtandi. Common side effects include muscle and joint pain, feeling unusually tired, hot flashes, constipation, less appetite, diarrhea, high blood pressure, bleeding, falls, fractures and headache, talk to your doctor and visit xtandi.com

[Miranda Devine]

so Afghanistan, the botched withdrawal by Joe Biden. How did you feel when you saw he left billions of dollars of equipment there? Left Bagram, which could have been useful right now. Yeah, what, what lessons, I guess, did you learn? Or did you. Were you angry? What was your.

[Mike Waltz]

I was and it wasn't. Look, I think the debate on what our future was there. I mean, President Trump wanted us to draw down. It was how it was done and how stupidly badly it was done. I mean, we were pounding the table to say, look, we've had these interpreters in some cases Afghan soldiers standing and dying with us. I've had some of those soldiers save my soldiers lives and vice versa. When you're in the foxhole together, you're in the foxhole together. So to see them abandoned, to see that they could have been pulled out first, I mean there's a lot of things that could have been done better and it was infuriating. It's, it's frankly, I think a scar on this, on my generation of veterans kind of hearts and souls that.

[Miranda Devine]

Do you know why it happened?

[Mike Waltz]

Well, well, well, look, I think number one, Joe Biden stubbornly didn't listen to anyone and was determined back to his days as vice president, President of yanking us out there no matter what the cost. But then to advertise it, remember they put a date originally it was September 11th. Yes. Somebody realized that's really insulting to a lot of the 911 families to advertise what we were going to do to say there were going to be no conditions to then try to blame it on Trump who said no, no.

[Miranda Devine]

Yeah.

[Mike Waltz]

There are seven conditions actually in place. It was just the worst mix of politics and incompetence. Yeah. I, I've ever seen.

[Miranda Devine]

And the military, I mean the DEI woke military that was being created under Biden or I mean was it earlier

[Mike Waltz]

were you were all complaining to us behind the scenes in, in Congress, Millie being one of them.

[Miranda Devine]

Millie was complaining. But then Millie was complaining.

[Mike Waltz]

Step up, step up.

[Miranda Devine]

Wow.

[Mike Waltz]

What was he complaining and put your stars on the table. Right. If, if, if you think this is wrong and you know, oh well, we've been through these reviews. Well, he clearly didn't listen, listen, this is not the way it should have been done.

[Miranda Devine]

And why did Millie call the Chinese?

[Mike Waltz]

I don't know. I don't know. I wasn't, I wasn't pretty to it at that point. But I've got to say the strategic kind of aftermath of that. President Trump was never going to give up Bagram and why that base is so important. It is closer to China's western border that I mean can you imagine if they had an air base outside of Mexico City, would they have just given it up for free? 12, 000 foot Runway. Huge expense, huge time and treasure. So not only keep a lid on the world's, I think epicenter of terrorism, but also just where it is geostrategically we see how important that basic Diego Garcia is out in the Indian Ocean, that that Iran just fired an intermediate range missile at that, that base was absolutely critical. Should have never given it up. And, oh, by the way, you have trillions and trillions of dollars of critical minerals there that would have not only funded their economy and their way out of this extremism, you know, could have been a key, key supply chain source for us as well, after 20 years of sacrifice. So it was the height of. Of stupidity. But after, you know, I mean, I wear one of these bracelets for one of my Green Berets that I lost to look at their family. And that's why I started out with saying, you kept us safe for no more 9 11s for. For over 20 years. But it. It's hard. It's very hard.

[Miranda Devine]

Who was that?

[Mike Waltz]

This was Staff Sergeant Matt Pacino. And Matt always volunteered to go on point. And one time I confronted him, I said, man, like, rotate this out. He said, no, no, no. If I miss a tripwire, if I miss an ied, I want it to be me and not my brothers. And. And so he would go out on motorcycles or four wheelers ahead of our armored convoys so that he could see the ground. Those are the kind of Americans that, you know, I, I've had the honor to, to lead and to work with.

[Miranda Devine]

You have four bronze stars. That's a incredible accomplishment. And I think, you know, your book, Hard Truths, really tells us a lot about who you are and what made you. I. I haven't got time, but I would have loved to have gone back. We'll have to come back sometime. Come back and talk about your. I mean, your childhood. You had a hard Scrabble childhood in Florida. Your dad walked out immediately after you were born, pretty much quickly. Just. Did you ever meet him and what was he like and why did he leave?

[Mike Waltz]

I only knew. I only met him twice. And, you know, he gave, you know, this excuse or that excuse. It really doesn't matter. What does matter is that my mother stepped in and she was mom, dad, provider and, and I think ran through brick wall after brick wall so that my sister and I would have, you know, a better life. And, you know, she's my rock, and I'll always love her for it, but to, you know, to also see the experience of my wife's family, who. Her mother came through Ellis island just before it closed, was a Jordanian Christian that literally came, came on, came over here on. On a boat and forged a. A much better life for them. And now to see that you have amongst her brothers and sisters a diplomat. My wife was a veteran and a diplomat and President Trump's Homeland Security advisor in the first trial term and two doctors and lawyers amongst her brothers and sisters that then to go back and to enter be of in a position now to introduce them. She grew up in a mud hut. To introduce them to the king. Yeah literally with. With. With no floor to introduce them to the king of Jordan.

[Miranda Devine]

Wow.

[Mike Waltz]

Who is a great ally. That's these only in American stories or why we served in the military. And also I guess I'll just end with this. I've seen so much death and destruction. I've seen military force misapplied with policy drift in the wars of the Middle East. To now serve a president who gets it puts diplomacy first but gives us the levers with a strong rebuilt military. That kind of or else but also sees that everything we do should serve the American people. There should be a direct line. Every day we're asking ourselves how is this in our interest? How could I go back to one of my old town halls when I was in Congress and justify this? And I think that's the mentality that he takes. And it's just. It's. It's an honor. It really is.

[Miranda Devine]

Terrific. Thanks so much, Michael.

[Mike Waltz]

Thank you.

[Miranda Devine]

Thanks so much for tuning in to Pod Force One. Let us know what you thought of this week's show in the comments below. And don't forget to like and subscribe so you don't miss future episodes.