Trump hints that he’s open to Richard Grenell, Robert O’Brien and Tom Cotton for national security roles
Former President Donald Trump signaled openness Monday to bringing on three big-name national security specia𝓀lists into his administration if elected the 47th chief executive next month.
Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt gently nudged Trump during an interview about whether the Republican nominee would bring back former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and ex-national security adviser Robert O’Brien, while adding Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
“Oh, a lot of the people that you like are going to be there, OK?” Trump . “I can name all the people that you like, and I like the same people. So you’ll have those people, and you’ll have more.”
Trump, 78, did not mention any specific names for national security roles, though he did name-drop former US Trade Representative Roberღt Lighthizer as a potential returnee.
“I had a lot of great people, Lighthizer, I had so many great people,” he said, later adding: “And some of the bad ones, it’s nice, I know who they are.
“I know the good ones, the smart ones. I know the dummies. I know the weak ones. I know the people,” Trump added. “When I got there, remember, I was a developer from New York. I took a crash course. And I have great people. We have great people lined up. You see that.”
All three men are widely seen as Trump ꦰloyalists.
Grenell, 58, has been an outspoken champion of the 45th president’s America First credo, with a penchant for trolling liberals on social media.
Over the summer, Grenell floated a to resolve the war in Ukraine by establishing autonomous zones within the war-torn country but declined to specify the mechanics of how that ⭕would work.
O’Brien, 58, is seen as more of a traditional Ronald Reagan-style conservative on foreign policy. He has long about China’s growing military might and has of weapon shipments to Ukraine by the Harris-Biden administration.
Cotton, 47, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a hawk who called last year for a “massive” US retaliation against Iran for its proxy activity in the Middle 🅘East. In April, the Arkansan split with his c༺olleague, Trump running mate JD Vance, and voted to replenish aid to Ukraine.
D🦩uring his first administration, Trump had reveled in the mix of foreign policy hawks an⛦d doves who surrounded him.
One key prerequisite to ser൲ving in a hypothetical second Trump term will be loyalty, according to transition co-chair Howard Lutnick.
“Those people were not pure to his vision,” Lutnick Monday about former Trump administration officials who quit during his first 𒊎term, such as former chief of staꦐff John Kelly and ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Lutnick insisted next time will be different.
“They’re all going to be on the same side, and they’re all going to𒁏 understand the policies, and we’re going to give people the role based on their capacity — and their f🌳idelity and loyalty to the policy, as well as to the man.”
Israel and Iran
During his wide-ranging interview with ꦍHewitt on Monday, Trump also touched on the situation in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“If Israel hits their [Iran’s] nuclear sites, will you applaud?” Hewitt asked.
“Yeah, I dealt with [North Koraen dictator] Kim Jung Un. And he has nuclear weapons. And you tend to speak a little bit differently when they have nuclear weapons,” Trump replied.
The Republican nominee also acknowledged recent polling showing him in a dead h💎eat with Vice President Kamal൩a Harris among Arab Americans as she grapples with progressive infighting over the Israel-Hamas war.
“I want to see everything get worked out. I want peace. I don’t want to see people killed. I want peace, and they know that. And the Jewish people know that. And both sides like it, and know that I can get peace,” Trump suggested.
“There were no wars with Trump. People don’t realize it. I took over ISIS, and I decimated ISIS,” he added. “I had some real generals over there.”
