Episode 23: The National Security Team – Loyalty Over Competence

Episode Summary:

In this second installment of our three-part national security series, we examine the people now leading America’s most powerful security agencies. These aren’t leaders chosen for experience or qualifications. They’re chosen for loyalty — and that shift has turned national security on its head.

From purged intelligence staff and photo-op border raids to encrypted chat scandals and weaponized institutions, this episode reveals how Donald Trump has stacked the national security deck with loyalists. These officials aren’t just carrying out policy. They’re reshaping the very function of our defense, intelligence, and justice systems — often in ways that put the country at risk.

We walk through the team member by member: who they are, what they’ve done, and why it matters. 

In This Episode:

• How Laura Loomer helped purge national security staff and got a general fired — without clearance or evidence
• Mike Waltz’s chaotic Pentagon purge and the origins of “Signalgate”
• Marco Rubio’s triple-role conflict and complicity in record destruction
• Pete Hegseth’s politicization of military culture and the border stunt that wasted millions
• Tulsi Gabbard’s shift toward authoritarian-friendly rhetoric — and why her calm demeanor might be the most dangerous part
• Kristi Noem’s performative homeland security — armored vehicles, propaganda raids, and weakened cyber defenses
• Kash Patel’s quiet dismantling of the FBI and centralization of political power
• Steve Witkoff’s rise from real estate developer to Trump’s Middle East envoy — and his string of geopolitical blunders

Why It Matters:

National security depends on professionalism, integrity, and independent judgment. What we see now is the opposite: an environment where political loyalty trumps competence, and personal allegiance dictates policy. That’s not just a personnel problem — it’s a structural collapse.

Next Episode:

In Episode 24, we go behind the scenes to look at the whisperers — the unelected influencers shaping Trump’s national security strategy. Plus, we dive deep into Signalgate, the most serious intelligence breach of Trump’s second term.

Transcript

Bella Goode  00:04

And welcome back to Surviving Trump. I'm Bella Goode. This episode, we'll look at who's running national security. As we work our way through the profiles of those in charge. You might think that you're reading People magazine or the National Enquirer. It's very difficult to take these people seriously. They were appointed to their positions not because of their qualifications, but because of their fierce loyalty to Trump. The people now leading our national security agencies weren't chosen for their experience. 

They were chosen for their allegiance, and that shift has flipped the entire idea of competent leadership upside down. Today, we'll talk about who they are, and next episode, we'll look at the chaos that they've created. It's not just about job titles or resumes, it's how national security has been redefined, not to protect the country, but to protect the presidency. The people in these roles have enormous power over our military, our intelligence operations and our system of justice. They've shown just how willing they are to ignore legal norms, to remove institutional safeguards and to sideline qualified staff in favor of fellow enforcers. We'll start with a story that reflects just how far this lunacy has gone and how dangerous this environment has become. 

Bella Goode  01:27

We've been Loomered! Maybe I can claim ownership of this new word: Loomered. What has this country come to when someone like Laura Loomer can walk into the White House and get people fired. Earlier this year, lumer, a far right conspiracy theorist who once said Muslims shouldn't be allowed in Ubers, found her way into the west wing with a personal list of deep state infiltrators that she wanted gone. They weren't suspected terrorists, instead, they were government staffers that she personally deemed disloyal to Trump, and Trump listened. Within days, at least three national security officials were removed from their posts. Some were reassigned, others were fired outright. 

Bella Goode  02:19

The most senior among them was a Navy captain with more than two decades of experience, including counterterrorism deployments and a recent assignment, managing interagency coordination in the Middle East. His credentials were impeccable. His reputation Sterling. His crime? Loomer had flagged him on social media as someone who might not be fully loyal to Trump. According to internal sources, Loomer accused him of MAGA objectives, but of course, she had no evidence, no clearance, but she had Trump's ear, and that was enough. And Trump didn't just fire the officer, he praised Loomer publicly. He reposted her messages, he told aides that he wanted more people like her involved in staffing decisions. And there's more Loomer shenanigans. She has since launched a personal opposition research firm and is now quietly marketing herself to the Trump White House as a political Vetter, helping to screen candidates for high level positions based on MAGA loyalty. 

Bella Goode  03:28

So far, Loomer has played a role in the replacement of General Timothy Haugh, the head of both US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, one of the most sensitive and powerful roles in the American government. Haugh wasn't under investigation. He hadn't failed, but Loomer flagged him as insufficiently loyal, and Trump acted on it. Firing General Haugh wasn't a routine decision. It disrupted one of the most sensitive positions in the entire national security system, Cyber Command and the national security agency oversees some of the most powerful tools that the US has. Tools that can hack into foreign systems, intercept global communications and launch offensive cyber operations. But those powers are supposed to come with guardrails. US Law makes it illegal to use them against American citizens or for domestic spying. That legal firewall is there for a reason. Without it, nothing stops president from turning those tools inward, surveilling journalists, tracking political opponents, or targeting anyone seen as a threat, that's exactly what the law was meant to prevent. 

Bella Goode  04:46

By removing Haugh and potentially replacing him with someone chosen for loyalty rather than legal judgment or technical expertise, Trump is weakening the safeguards that keep national security from becoming a weapon of political power. As former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall warned in Newsweek, "Every American should view this development with alarm." It's the new reality of how power is working inside Trump's second term government. 

If Laura Loomer, someone banned from most social media platforms spreading hate speech, can walk into the White House and orchestrate a purge of a career national security professional and help pit the head of the NSA, what does that say about how decisions are being made? What does that say about the threshold for judgment, for security, for sanity? Because these weren't harmless moves. They removed qualified professionals from sensitive positions. They weakened decision making processes. 

They sent a chilling message to everyone still inside, fall in line, or you're out. Ideology now outranks expertise. Conspiracy now outranks competence and Donald Trump, who is always prized personal loyalty above professional credibility, is using that loyalty test to reshape national security in his own image. And nowhere is that transformation more visible than in the people that Trump has chosen to carry it out. Here are the main players.

Bella Goode  06:18

Let's start with Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor. Waltz holds one of the most powerful positions in the United States government, and he's one of the clearest examples of what happens when political loyalty matters more than strategic competence. Waltz is a former Green Beret and a congressman from Florida. He likes to remind people of that often. 

He came into the Pentagon promising to bring warrior culture back to the Defense Department. What he's actually brought is partisanship, paranoia and chaos. From the moment he was confirmed, Waltz has prioritized Trump's ideological goals over the actual mission of the National Defense. He's purged dozens of senior staff within his first month, not because of misconduct, but because they weren't deemed loyal enough to the President. 

Some of them were career officers with decades of service across both Republican and Democratic administrations. Others were civilian appointees with deep regional experience, all were swept aside in favor of influencers, podcasters, not me, I wasn't asked, and Trump campaign veterans. Waltz has championed the view that domestic political dissent is a security threat. He has repeatedly suggested that protests against Trump policies could be classified as unconventional warfare. 

Bella Goode  07:46

Under his leadership, the Pentagon has ramped up intelligence coordination with domestic agencies, including expanded surveillance operations under the vague justification of civil disruption management. That's a slippery slope, and it's already raised alarm bells among civil liberties groups and defense analysts. Sources inside the Pentagon say the erosion of discipline under Waltz hasn't just affected strategy, it's compromised security. 

On April 2, Politico reported that Waltz's national security team had regularly used unsecured signal chats to discuss critical issues involving Ukraine, China, Gaza, the Middle East and Europe. Officials cited in the report confirmed at least 20 separate chats, many involving sensitive or classified materials. The breach was so widespread that senior officials assumed it was normalized behavior. 

Bella Goode  08:44

When the story broke, the White House simply called the matter closed. He's also been central to what has become known as "signal gate", the national security breach stemming from the use of encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Gmail to coordinate military operations. Waltz personally oversaw a planning session for a US strike in Yemen. Now Waltz thought he was inviting a deputy intelligence aide. Instead, he invited Jeff Goldberg, a journalist and editor at The Atlantic magazine. Jeff, of course, was an unauthorized participant, and he, Jeff Goldberg, was thus privy to sensitive material that had been shared in an unsecured space, that single mistake could have compromised an entire operation. 

And it wasn't an isolated incident. The use of unauthorized tools, limited vetting and chaotic communication have become hallmarks of Waltz's command structure. Discipline has eroded, and loyalty checks have replaced chain of command standards. Waltz doesn't seem to be bothered. He remains focused on culture war, talking points, media appearances and internal purges. Hereshaped the Pentagon around Trump's world view where enemies are internal dissent equals treason, and the military exists not as a check on presidential power, but as a tool for enforcing it. Waltz may wear a uniform, but he's not fighting for the Constitution anymore. He's fighting for the man who put him there, and in doing so, he's helping turn the Department of Defense into a weapon of political control. 

Bella Goode  10:24

So let's turn to Marco Rubio. When he was nominated as Secretary of State, many anticipated that he would serve as a stabilizing force, bringing foreign policy experience and a commitment to democratic norms, he would be the adult in the room. His confirmation was smooth, with the Senate approving him unanimously, 99 to zero. Both parties hoped Rubio would provide steady leadership in an administration typically characterized by turbulence. 

However, concerns have arisen regarding his effectiveness and the breadth of his responsibilities since his appointment, Rubio has also been serving concurrently as the Acting Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, otherwise known as USAID, and the acting Archivist of the United States. This triple duty has drawn criticism from lawmakers and ethic experts who argue that such consolidation of roles undermines the independence and functionality of these distinct agencies. As acting archivist Rubio oversees the National Archives and the Records Administration responsible for preserving federal records. Simultaneously under its leadership, USAID, there have been reports of directives to destroy agency records, raising alarms about potential conflicts of interest and violations of the Federal Records Act. 

Bella Goode  11:53

Beyond that, Marco Rubio's dual role as Secretary of State and acting archivist, makes his involvement in Signal Gate especially troubling. As Secretary of State, he participated in the now famous Signal group chat that shared sensitive military and intelligence information in violation of national security protocols. But as acting archivist, the official legally responsible for safeguarding the nation's records, his complicity runs deeper. Signal, by design, auto deletes messages after a set time, often seven days. That means that any messages exchanged in the chat were never preserved, in direct violation of the federal and the Presidential Records Act, both of which require that records of official government business be retained and submitted to the National Archives. 

As the person in charge of enforcing these laws, Rubio's decision to use and to remain silent about the use of a disappearing message platform for government business is not just a breach of ethics, it's potentially criminal. At best, Rubio looked the other way. At worst, he enabled the destruction of public records he was sworn to protect. This is a fundamental breakdown of the safeguards that ensure government transparency and accountability, and as Rubio's silence only underscores how far this administration has drifted from the rule of law in his role as Secretary of State, Rubio has faced challenges in asserting influence within the administration during the April 2025 trade tariff tensions, European leaders reportedly bypassed traditional diplomatic channels, opting instead to engage with Jared Kushner, who holds no formal diplomatic position but continues to act as a back channel on various international matters. This sidelining has led to questions about Rubio's authority and effectiveness in his primary role. 

Bella Goode  13:59

Rubio's alignment with President Trump's hard line policies has also sparked controversy. He submitted a memo supporting the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a legal US resident and Columbia University graduate student, involved in a pro Palestinian protest. Rubio's memo said that Khalil, his protest activities worked against US foreign policy interests, a move criticized by legal experts as lacking substantive evidence and infringing on free speech rights. This strict stance on immigration and dissent has drawn backlash from immigrant communities and traditional Republicans alike. In Miami, a billboard funded by the Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus labeled Rubio and other Cuban American lawmakers as traitors for not defending immigrant rights amid the administration's harsh policies. Rubio's transformation from a critic of Trump in 2016 to a loyal cabinet member, has been stark. His earlier warnings about Trump's leadership have given way to full blown support aligning closely with the administration's agenda. This shift has alienated some traditional conservatives who once viewed Rubio as a principled voice within the party, as Rubio continues to navigate his expanded portfolio, questions remain about his ability to balance these roles effectively and to maintain credibility, both domestically and abroad. 

Bella Goode  15:33

It gets better. Let's talk about Pete Hegseth. Since his appointment, Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth has aggressively pursued an agenda aimed at reshaping the US military's culture and leadership, emphasizing traditional combat values and eliminating what he perceives as woke influences. Wokel W, O, K, E. Woke influences. Hegseth has led a comprehensive campaign to dismantle Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs within the military. This initiative has included the dismissal of senior officers associated with DEI efforts such as Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, the US military representative to NATO, and Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first female Chief of Naval Operations. Critics argue that these actions target women and people of color under the guise of combating wokeness. 

Bella Goode  16:34

A particularly controversial move was the firing of General Charles Q Brown Jr, an African American serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brown, a highly respected four star general with extensive leadership experience, was replaced by retired Lieutenant General Dan Kane. Kane's appointment required a presidential waiver, as he did not meet the statutory requirements for the position, such as having served as a Service Chief or Combatant Commander. This unprecedented decision has drawn criticism from military experts and former defense officials who view it as a politicization of military leadership. 

In line with this agenda, Hegseth's office directed the removal of nearly 400 books from the US Naval Academy's library focusing on materials promoting DEI concepts. So Hegseth, he's a big advocate for the return to traditional military values, emphasizing physical toughness and combat readiness, his vision includes rigorous physical training and a focus on conventional warfare skills. Critics argue that this approach marginalizes women and LGBTQ service members, effectively tightening the military's inclusivity. Hegseth has expressed skepticism about the inclusion of women in combat roles, suggesting that their participation complicates combat situations and may reduce effectiveness. Additionally, he has opposed the presence of transgender individuals in the military, describing their inclusion as detrimental to unit cohesion and combat readiness.

Bella Goode  18:22

In line with his emphasis on traditional military values, Hegseth is known for making unconventional appointments, and he's also made some protocol breaches. His decision to appoint his brother Phil Hegseth As a senior advisor has raised concerns about nepotism. Phil, whose background is in media relations, now holds a significant position within the Pentagon. To say the least, it's not common for senior level positions to be filled by family members of cabinet heads. This too is unusual. 

Hegseth has brought his wife Jennifer to high level meetings with Foreign Military officials, including sessions with NATO representatives and the British defense secretary, these meetings typically involve sensitive information and are usually restricted to individuals with the appropriate security clearances. The Signal Gate incident involving the use of unsecured communication channels for sensitive military operations has further marred Texas tenure. This incident, which will be further explored in detail in Episode 24 highlights the critical importance of secure communications protocols and the potential consequences of lapses in information security at the highest levels of government. 

Bella Goode  19:41

The incident has also strained relationships with international partners, as allies expressed frustrations over the leak of shared intelligence. Israel, in particular, voiced concerns after its intelligence contributions were compromised in the disclosed communications. His focus on securing the US, Mexico border, with a central focus of his tenure, aligning closely with President Trump's directives. Emphasizing that border security is national security, Hegseth has overseen a significant expansion of the military's role in border enforcement. This includes deploying additional troops to the border, authorizing patrols using striker armored vehicles and enhancing surveillance operations. 

The Department of Defense has also taken control of federal lands along the border to facilitate these operations, treating them as military installations with restricted access. He supported a major expansion of the migrant Operations Center in Guantanamo Bay with a goal of detaining up to 30,000 migrants, especially those labeled as high risk or allegedly affiliated with gangs or cartels. But the plan was deeply flawed right from the start, legally, logistically and morally. Critics warned early on that the facility lacked the infrastructure to support that kind of surge. And sure enough, within weeks, Guantanamo Bay, the operation began to unravel. 

Multiple flights of detainees were flown to Guantanamo on expensive military aircraft, only to be flown back to the US days later because there wasn't enough room or adequate security to hold them on the base. This not only raised serious questions about the due process, as many migrants were denied access to lawyers or meaningful asylum review, but it also wasted taxpayer money. The failed operation spent 10s of millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, with some individual flights costing hundreds of 1000s of dollars, only to have detainees flown back to the US days later all, to shuffle people around in a failing PR stunt masquerading as policy. 

Bella Goode  21:58

Hegseth has taken a hard line stance in international relations concerning border security, he has warned Mexican officials that the US military is prepared to take unilateral action against drug cartels if Mexico does not intensify its efforts to curb fentanyl trafficking and illegal migration. These statements have strained diplomatic relations with Mexican officials expressing alarm over the potential for US military intervention on their soil. And how about Tulsi Gabbard, she used to be a rising star in the Democratic Party, and today she's the Director of National Intelligence under Donald Trump, a job that puts her in charge of all intelligence agencies and makes her the President's top advisor on national security threats. Well, Trump nominated Gabbard for the role, and she was confirmed by the Senate in a close 52 to 48 vote. 

Bella Goode  22:56

As the DNI, Director- the Director of National Intelligence, her job is to manage the operations of 18 different intelligence agencies, overseeing their budgets and briefing the President every day on the biggest threats facing the country. She served in the Iraqi war and was a member of Congress from Hawaii. She once helped lead the Democratic Party, and she actually also ran for president in 2020. As someone who didn't trust either political side, she left the Democratic Party in 2022. By 2024 she had joined the Republicans and had become a regular guest on right wing news shows. 

Over time, her views have shifted. She started repeating talking points that sounded a lot like what Russian government says- sounds a lot like what the Russian government says, especially about Ukraine. She even met with Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad in 2017 a move that many Democrats and Republicans criticized. Gabbard also blamed us wars on greedy elites, and often attacked what she calls the military industrial complex. During her confirmation hearings, these issues came up. Some senators said that she was too close to authoritarian leaders and didn't have enough experience in intelligence. She avoided some tough questions and pushed back hard against her critics and called the whole process a smear campaign. 

Bella Goode  24:24

Now confirmed, Gabbard says she wants to focus more on foreign terrorist threats and cut what she sees as political bias inside the intelligence community. She has also suggested cutting the budget, changing how the government tracks cyber threats, moves that worry some national security experts. So far, she hasn't been tied to any major mistakes or security breaches, but people inside and outside the government they're watching closely, Gabbard continues to question us intelligence findings and raises doubts about allies like NATO and spreading a message that often matches the views of American rivals. 

So it's concerning, because Gabbard, well, she's calm and collected, which makes her a standout on Trump's team, often known for chaos, but her views and approach are a big shift from past leaders in this role. She doesn't seem to trust America's intelligence agencies, and she often speaks in ways that help countries like Russia and Syria. That's what makes her dangerous, not because she's loud or reckless, but because she quietly challenges the very idea of who America's enemies are, while sitting in one of the most powerful national security jobs in the country. 

Bella Goode  25:40

Oh, so we turn now to Kristi Noem. She isn't just running the TSA. She's running the entire Department of Homeland Security. As Secretary, she is now responsible for one of the largest and most complex agencies in the US government. DHS, Department of Homeland Security covers everything from airport security and border enforcement to cyber security, disaster response and counter terrorism. Over 240,000 people work under her, including the Coast Guard, FEMA, ICE and the TSA. It's a massive job that demands serious experience in national security, intelligence, emergency management and law enforcement. But Noem has none of this experience. She's never served in the military. She's never worked in law enforcement, and has no background in security policy or crisis response. What she does bring is personal loyalty to Trump, a bold political brand and a talent for turning government work into made for TV moments. 

Bella Goode  26:46

Her confirmation flew under the radar screen. After bruising fights over Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, most Senate Democrats didn't want another drawn out battle, so they let her through. But since taking office, Noem has used her role not to lead a major security department, but to build her image. Under nomes leadership, DHS has started to unravel. Cybersecurity teams have been gutted, including over 100 specialists from the agency responsible for protecting critical infrastructure and elections. States have sounded the alarm, warning that without DHS support, they're flying blind heading into the 2026 midterms. Screening protocols are inconsistent. Coordination between agencies has broken down, and intelligence sharing has slowed to a crawl at exactly the moment we need it the most. Internal documents point to a disturbing trend; unqualified loyalists being placed in key regional positions while experienced staff quietly exit. DHS isn't being run like a security agency. It's being run like a campaign arm. The focus has shifted from preventing threats to protecting strength, mostly for show. Think, heavily staged border raids and armored vehicles, not serious security strategy. 

Bella Goode  28:09

Her time in office has been defined by social media stunts and public relations plays, not serious management. Her now infamous trip to El Salvador showed her posing in tactical gear in front of shackled prisoners. It wasn't a policy visit or a diplomatic mission. It was an advertisement for Rolex watches. She's done similar trips to southern border, sometimes flying in camera crews while canceling staff briefings back in Washington, her team at DHS headquarters has nicknamed her ICE Barbie. She's rolled out flashy campaigns like America's first travel Security Initiative, complete with MAGA style messaging, staff loyalty pledges and new uniforms designed for visual impact. The biggest spectacle so far came in April. Noem staged a highly choreographed ICE raid in Phoenix that resulted in just three arrests, but it generated a flood of images for her social media. She rode in a military grade SWAT vehicle, posed with a rifle and delivered sound bites to far right influencers and press. 

Bella Goode  29:21

She even approached detained migrants on camera, acting as both law enforcement and a judge. The entire event came just after the Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to use the alien enemies act of 1798 a law which allows fast tracking deportations. Noem quickly linked her raid to the ruling warning migrants to register with the government or face daily fines and criminal charges. "Only American citizens will be afforded rights in this country," she told the New York Post. This wasn't policy, it was a performance. It was a made for media version of immigration enforcement. Full of pageantry, light on strategy. And that's the real danger. Homeland Security is supposed to be about coordination, protection and rapid response. Under Noem, it's become a stage. The systems designed to keep Americans safe are being treated as props, and the cameras appear to be always rolling. 

Bella Goode  30:19

So let's move on to Kash Patel. He's the FBI Director. Trump's FBI Director Kash Patel might be one of the most quiet, dangerous figures in his entire national security team. You won't see Patel staging photo ops like Christy Noem or launching cable news tirades like Pete Hegseth, but make no mistake, behind the scenes, he's doing more to reshape the US government than most anyone else on this list. As director of the FBI, Patel oversees the country's most powerful domestic law enforcement agency with reach into counter intelligence, anti terrorism, cyber crime, election security and political corruption. 

The FBI holds surveillance authority, access to federal courts, criminal investigative power, and a vast network of field offices that touch every state in the country, and somehow, that's the job that Trump gave to a man who's never been a prosecutor, never run a field office and never led a federal agency. Patel started out as a public defender and a hill staffer. He gained notoriety working for Devin Nunes during the House Intelligence Committee efforts to discredit the Russian investigation. He wasn't gathering intelligence. He was manufacturing confusion. He became Trump's behind the scenes fixer, writing alternative memos, pressuring investigators and helping to craft the MAGA version of events. That loyalty paid off. Trump gave him a senior job at the National Security Council, then slipped him into the Pentagon, and now Patel is sitting atop the very agency that once investigated Trump now fully repurposed to protect him. 

Bella Goode  32:06

His confirmation was ugly. Ug-ly. FBI veterans went public warning that Patel had no law enforcement qualifications and was openly hostile to the agency's mission. Democrats demanded his nomination be pulled, but the MAGA Senate confirmed him anyway, not because they trusted him to uphold the law, but because they knew he wouldn't. Since taking over, Patel has purged key departments, ousting officials involved in the past Trump era investigations. He's redirected counter intelligence priorities, pulling resources away from domestic extremism cases and towards loyalty audits inside FBI ranks and cracking down on whistleblowers. He's implemented a new internal policy that requires high level political cases including public corruption and the election interference, to go through his office for personal sign off. 

Bella Goode  33:04

And yes, he was also involved in Signal Gate. He participated in the very same insecure messaging channels that were used to coordinate military actions and sensitive diplomatic discussions. We'll cover that breach fully in Episode 24. Suffice to say, Patel wasn't just a bystander. He was fully in the loop. Truthfully, it's not what he's done, it's what he's in a position to do, and what he's positioned to do, with Trump in power, Patel at the FBI, federal law enforcement has been politicized from the inside out. Investigations now serve political goals. Internal dissent is treated as treason and civil liberties, well, there's just another obstacle to be bypassed in the name of loyalty. Kash Patel doesn't make a show of his power. He doesn't have to, as head of the country's top law enforcement agency, he answers only to Trump. That's all the authority he needs, and now he's using it to quietly take apart one of the last independent institutions still standing in Trump's way. 

Bella Goode  34:10

And finally, we come to our last player, a guy by the name of Steve Witkoff. He's not a General, he's not a Diplomat, he's not a foreign policy expert. He's a billionaire real estate developer from New York, best known for flipping skyscrapers, but now he's representing the United States in some of the world's most volatile and complex regions. He is our special envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff built his fortune buying and developing marquee properties like the Woolworth Building, The Park Lane hotel. With a net worth of about $2 billion he ranks far below Trump's top donors, but high enough in Trump's inner circle to land a string of international assignments. His diplomatic qualifications, well, he plays golf with Trump, and he knows how to let him win. 

Bella Goode  35:01

Trump first sent him to the Middle East, where, against all odds, he did help broker a major January cease fire and hostage exchange between Israel and the Hamas. His blunt, transactional style was credited with helping to break the deadlock and secure the release of 33 hostages. But his success quickly unraveled during a visit to Gaza Witkoff toured the ruins of war, and then suggested that it could be transformed into the Riviera of the Middle East. The remark was widely condemned as tone deaf and emblematic of his real estate first mindset. 

The humanitarian crisis unfolding around him seemed secondary to his redevelopment fantasies. And then came The Ukraine. Witkoff appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast and made headlines but for all the wrong reasons. He praised Vladimir Putin, said he didn't think of him as a bad guy, and he stumbled through basic geography, struggling to name the four Ukrainian regions Russian had just illegally annexed. He called them "Don Boss and Chromia", and then vaguely added, "Uh yes then there's two others." Carlson had to help them out. 

The blunders didn't end there. After a four hour meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, Witkoff reportedly backed Russia's claim to the occupied territories, calling for them to be handed over as part of a peace deal. He echoed Kremlin's propaganda that the regions had voted to join Russia, ignoring the reality of a sham referenda conducted at gunpoint. Several days later, Russia launched a ballistic missile attack on Palm Sunday at a church gathering in the Ukraine, killing 34 civilians, including women and children. Witkoff said nothing, crickets. 

Bella Goode  36:56

Meanwhile, back home, he stirred up more controversy. During official visits to Moscow, Witkoff reportedly used encrypted messaging apps for communications, a major breach of protocol, given the risk of Russian surveillance. He denied the reports claiming he only used government issued devices, but the damage was done. The Signal Gate controversy cast further doubt on his judgment. Witkoff oversimplifies complex international issues, treating them like property deals, where land can be traded, names changed and borders redrawn. But this isn't a real estate portfolio, it's global diplomacy, and the risks are real in a normal administration, Steve Witkoff might be a wealthy donor with backdoor access in Trump's he's redrawing maps, negotiating nuclear policy and speaking for the United States on the world stage. It's real estate diplomacy with global consequences. 

Bella Goode  37:55

Oh, it's a lot of people to cover. We went through nine players in this national security arena. But if you're wondering how national security breaks down, it doesn't always happen through a single failure or catastrophic event. Sometimes it happens like this, when institutions are gutted, norms are replaced by loyalty tests, and leaders start to govern through fear instead of trust. Here's an example 2am a couple of weeks ago, the Senate confirmed retired Lieutenant General John Dan Caine. We talked about him a little earlier as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, even though he lacks legally required experience. The law says The Chairman must have held one of a small number of top command positions. Caine has held none, but Trump issued a waiver the Senate approved him 60 to 25. As a former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall puts it, "this isn't business as usual. It's indisputable politicization of the military, and it sends a message to every officer still serving the law doesn't matter. Loyalty does." 

Bella Goode  39:08

So in episode 24 we will see that there's another layer to the story. Not everyone shaping national security policy has a title that goes up to a- shows up on an organizational chart some of the most influential players in this administration operate behind the scenes. They're not in charge of specific agencies, but they're helping define the rules, the threats and the responses. They're writing the memos, shaping the legal theories, and they're pushing the strategies that others then carry out. We are calling them The Whisperers, and in many ways, they're just as dangerous as the people with the official titles, sometimes even more so. 

We will profile four of the most influential behind the scenes figures in Trump's National Security world. That be Stephen Miller, Russell Vought, Rick Grenell and Peter Navarro. Each of them brings their own ideology and tactics, but together, they're part of a much broader shift towards secrecy, centralization and authoritarian control. Then bringing the series on national security to a logical end, we'll look at what happens when a breakdown turns into a breach, a massive failure of security discipline and strategic coordination that's already being called the most damaging intelligence leak in a generation, and it's called Signal Gate. 

 Bella Goode  40:32

Join us, then that's it for today. The full transcript and links are online. Leave your comments. You can also leave a review about this episode. It can help shape where this podcast goes until next time. Stay engaged, stay informed, and, most importantly, stay in the fight. This is Bella Goode, signing off.