Trump official makes shocking admission about Iran war — and is immediately criticized for it
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz blamed former President Joe Biden for depleted munition stockpiles before claiming that the U.S. had “everything” it needed for Iran war.
NBC anchor Kristen Welker asked Waltz about new reporting that said the Pentagon is rationing defense weaponry. She asked whether the U.S. is backing away from “a larger military attack because its military stockpile has been depleted.”
He then appeared to confirm that stockpiles were “depleted.”
“We have to take a step back here in that a lot of stockpiles were depleted not only from what we gave Ukraine over the last however many years, four or five years,” Waltz said on “Meet the Press.”
“And Secretary Hegseth inherited a depleted situation from not only Ukraine but also the ongoing fight with the Houthis under the Biden administration and the depleted military under the Biden administration,” he added.
Welker pressed Waltz, asking him whether he acknowledged that the stockpiles were “depleted.” He appeared to try to walk back his remarks, saying that the U.S. actually has everything it needed.
He also criticized potential leakers of military information, including the numbers on munition stockpiles.
“No, I want to be clear,” he said.
“The U.S. military, and I’ve verified this every which way, has everything that it needs to conduct this campaign as effectively as it needs to be,” he said. “I have to tell you, the people that are leaking this nonsense deserve to be in jail.”
Welker then asked if the government wants to throw people in jail over possible leaks of information.
“We have a number of leak investigations going on. I’ll defer that to the Department of Justice,” Waltz said. “But here’s the point. The point is the U.S. militaries has conducted a phenomenally successful campaign.”
“As you know, I’m a veteran by background. We have never maintained this kind of air superiority, sea superiority with unfettered access over Iran right now,” he added.
Waltz was criticized for his appearance on NBC and for blaming Biden for depleted stockpiles.
“This is so lame. Blaming Biden for depleted stockpiles, which everyone knows were depleted by Trump’s war in Iran, is not a good look,” political science professor Michael McFaul wrote on X.
Amy McGrath, a veteran running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, suggested Waltz should be talking about President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran instead.
“Oh yes Mr. Waltz, remind us how many THAAD, Patriot and Tomahawk missiles Biden fired off in a war he started with no strategic purpose…” she wrote.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) accused Waltz of lying.
“You lie,” Lieu wrote on X. “US provided zero THAAD missiles to Ukraine. US provided far less Patriots to Ukraine than the massive amount used in less than 5 months of the Iran war. Stop falsely blaming others and take responsibility for the disastrous Iran war.”
