Trump Ditched Mike Waltz on Tarmac Days Before His Departure As Top Cabinet Member: Report

President Donald Trump may have given an indication about the ultimate fate of former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz before effectively removing him from his post on Thursday.

Two days earlier, Trump left Waltz on the tarmac at Joing Base Andrews as he headed to Michigan. Footage of the moment published by CNN showed how Waltz was prevented from boarding the plane along with Trump and given indications from an aide.

The White House told the outlet that Waltz was not scheduled to go with Trump to Michigan, where the president held a rally to mark his first 100 days in office. However, the Daily Beast cited three sources from the Trump administration claiming it was "odd" Waltz was left there, especially as he had just been with the president on Marine One, the presidential helicopter.

Waltz's removal was announced on Thursday about six weeks after inadvertently adding a journalist to a Signal chat where highly sensitive information related to an upcoming attack on Yemen's Houthi rebels was discussed.

However, Axios detailed that Signalgate was not the only reason why he was on thin ice. Waltz's way of treating White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was highlighted as a reason as well, with officials saying he did so with a dismissive attitude. "He treated her like staff and didn't realize he's the staff, she's the embodiment of the president," one official told Axios.

"Susie is a deeply loyal person and the disrespect was made all the worse because it was disloyal." Vice President JD Vance also reportedly told Waltz on a trip to Greenland in March that he had to work "more collaboratively."

Moreover, MAGA firebrand and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer targeted him during a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office and pressed him to fire specific staffers, who she labeled as "neocons," a term used to refer to people who hold hawkish foreign policy views associated with the Bush administration.

Loomer suggested Trump should fire several officials he had appointed, including his deputy, Alex Wong, who is also leaving his post. She also showed him an old video of Waltz criticizing Trump.

Loomer suggested Wong was the one who added The Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the Signal chat, claiming that it was done "on purpose as part of a foreign opp to embarrass the Trump administration on behalf of China."

Waltz is now the nominee to be the next ambassador to the UN, and Senate Democrats are already showing eagerness to grill him. Most members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee signed a letter in late March a letter demanding that Trump provide answers about Signalgate. Moreover, Senator Chris Coons said on Thursday that he is looking "forward to a thorough confirmation hearing," responding to a post showing Waltz checking Signal during a recent Trump cabinet meeting.