Amid Defense Secretary chatter, Michael Waltz says world is ‘falling apart’ without Donald Trump in charge

Screenshot via RNC YouTube.

U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz served 27 years in uniform before spending the last six in Congress. But he senses more danger around the globe than any moment when he wears a uniform,

“I have never in my lifetime seen the world falling apart like it is under Joe Biden,” the St. Augustine Beach Republican said.

That stands in stark contrast, Waltz said, to the state of affairs during former President Donald Trump’s four years in office.

“We had a president who defeated ISIS, broke Iran, stood with Israel, always stood with our allies, made China pay. You didn’t see any spy balloons under President Trump, did you?”

During a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention, Waltz seemed to be applying for Trump’s next Secretary of Defense during his eight minutes on stage. Indeed, he had a perfect forum to do so.

Waltz was the fourth Florida Congressman featured on the Milwaukee stage on Wednesday and the only one to speak after Trump himself entered the convention hall to listen to the night’s marquis speeches.

Trump’s presidential campaign vetted Waltz as a potential running mate earlier this year, though his name disappeared from shortlists early. That role ultimately went to U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

But Waltz has continued to grow in stature. Wednesday’s speech marked his second appearance on stage at this year’s RNC, two days after he helped open the four-day event as co-chair of the party’s 20254 Platform Committee.

As he did his first time at the microphone, Waltz reminded those in the hall or watching at home that he was the first Green Beret elected to Congress.

He also recounted serving during conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan. He noted that his wife Julia Nesheiwat, herself a prior member of Trump’s administration, served in more tours abroad than Waltz had.

While Waltz also served as an adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney during the War on Terror, he praised Trump’s “America First” foreign policy. While that stood in sharp contrast to the neoconservative philosophies that dominated in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Waltz praised the deterrence mindset during Trump’s first term.

He credited Trump with discouraging Russian President Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine between 2016 and 2021.

“You know what? He told Putin, you try anything, and I’ll take the tops off the Kremlin. And he didn’t dare, did he?” Waltz asserted. “He did under (Barack) Obama. He did under Biden. But not under Donald J Trump.”

While Biden recently said that Trump never performed well in foreign policy, Waltz listed a series of achievements abroad by the Republican President.

“He defused North Korea, and importantly, importantly, he got our hostages home and didn’t pay billions of dollars to get our Americans back,” he said.

Repeating similar accusations as U.S. Rep. Brian Mast leveled earlier in the evening, Waltz said Biden’s priorities were teaching inclusive ideology in military academies instead of critical tactics.

“What’s he focused on? He’s focused on pronouns. He’s focused on renaming bases. He’s focused on DEI,” Waltz said. “And here’s my favorite: he’s focused on building electric tanks. Has anybody seen any charging stations in the Middle East for Biden’s electric tanks?”

Waltz also presented Trump as a champion of soldiers, independent of their creed or color.

“Our enemies’ bullets could give a damn about Black, White or Brown, or about religion or about gender or about anything else,” Waltz said. “The only colors that matter in the foxhole are the red, white and blue baby. That’s the only thing that matters. That’s the only thing our military should care about, and that’s the only thing our fellow soldiers care about. That’s the only thing President Trump cares about.”

Waltz also slammed Biden over the consequences of the sloppy withdrawal from Afghanistan, one that included a bombing at a Kabul airport that resulted in 13 U.S. service members’ deaths. He said Biden has refused to meet with many families.

“Biden won’t even take their calls. He calls it an outstanding success. He won’t even take a meeting with them,” Waltz said.

But he recalled that Trump did meet with many of those families at Waltz’s request. The Congressman recounted that while Trump blocked out an hour for the meeting, the former President ultimately spent more than six hours. During that time, he promised a full investigation of the Abbey Gate incident and accountability the Biden administration never provided at any level of command.

“Two of them came up to me afterward and said, this was the best thing that had happened to them since they had lost their sons that night,” Waltz said.