NSA Waltz: “The World Owes Trump a Favor” — Houthis Crushed, Sea Lanes Reopened; Trump: “Gasoline Way Down, Eggs Way Down”

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz delivered a forceful defense of the administration’s record in March 2025, contrasting the media’s focus on a journalist controversy with the administration’s national security achievements. “The world owes President Trump a favor,” Waltz said. “Under Biden, global shipping was shut down. President Trump took decisive action — took out the head missileer, knocked out missiles, knocked out headquarters, knocked out communication sites. And for once, as you hear from every one of our allies — thank God for American leadership again.” Trump then corrected a Democratic congressman who claimed prices hadn’t fallen: “That’s false. Gasoline’s way down. Eggs are way down. Groceries are down very substantially."

"How the Heck He Got Into This Room”

Waltz opened by addressing a controversy involving a journalist who had been inadvertently included in a sensitive communication.

“You asked about lessons,” Waltz said to Trump. “I think the lesson is — there’s a lot of journalists in this city who have made big names for themselves making up lies about this president, whether it’s the Russia hoax or making up lies about Gold Star families.”

He addressed the specific journalist: “And this one in particular, I’ve never met, don’t know, never communicated with. And we are looking into and reviewing how the heck he got into this room.”

Waltz then executed the pivot that defined the rest of his remarks: rather than dwelling on the controversy, he redirected to the substance of what the administration’s national security team had accomplished.

The “how the heck he got into this room” framing acknowledged the issue while treating it as a security question — how did it happen? — rather than a scandal. Waltz was committing to a review while simultaneously refusing to let the incident overshadow the administration’s achievements.

”The World Owes President Trump a Favor”

Waltz then delivered his most forceful statement, contrasting Biden-era inaction with Trump-era decisiveness on the Houthi threat.

“But I’ll tell you what — the world owes President Trump a favor,” Waltz said. “Under Biden, global shipping was shut down.”

He described the Biden-era response: “Pinprick attacks, months between them, our destroyers being fired upon dozens of times.”

Then the Trump response: “President Trump took decisive action with his national security team — took out the head missileer, knocked out missiles, knocked out headquarters, knocked out communication sites.”

The contrast was stark. The Biden administration had responded to Houthi attacks on international shipping with sporadic, limited strikes that the Houthis absorbed without changing their behavior. Ships continued to be attacked; insurance rates soared; shipping companies rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope; and global supply chains were disrupted. The Houthis correctly assessed that the Biden administration would not escalate to the level required to stop them.

The Trump administration had taken the opposite approach. Rather than proportional responses, it had launched comprehensive strikes designed to degrade the Houthis’ ability to attack shipping. The “head missileer” — presumably the commander of the Houthis’ missile operations — was killed. Launch sites, headquarters, and communications infrastructure were destroyed. The goal was not to signal displeasure but to eliminate capability.

Waltz reported the result: “And for once, as we hear, as you all hear from every one of our allies — thank God for American leadership again. Thank God for American strength.”

The Messaging App and Director Radcliffe

Waltz addressed the specific communication security question with a reference to the intelligence community.

“We had a national security team that was coordinating these efforts, as Director Radcliffe testified today,” Waltz said, referring to DNI John Radcliffe. “His first day on the job, he was introduced to this app on his government systems at the CIA and at the State Department.”

The mention of Radcliffe’s testimony established that the communication tools in question were part of the government’s existing systems, not something improvised by the Trump administration. The app had been present at the CIA and State Department before the current team arrived.

Waltz then framed the media’s focus: “This journalist, Mr. President, wants the world talking about more hoaxes and this kind of nonsense rather than the freedom that you’re enabling."

"Knocking the Crap Out of Terrorists”

Waltz connected the Houthi operations to the broader national security picture.

“A key part of our sovereignty is open sea lanes and knocking the crap out of terrorists, which is exactly what your team and Pete Hegseth — a good friend and fellow veteran — is leading the charge on,” Waltz said. “And it’s an honor.”

The phrase “open sea lanes” reframed the Houthi conflict from a Middle Eastern problem to a global economic issue. The Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb strait were among the world’s most critical shipping chokepoints. When Houthi attacks forced ships to reroute around Africa, the additional time and fuel costs were passed on to consumers worldwide in the form of higher prices for everything from oil to consumer goods.

By reopening the sea lanes through military action, the Trump administration was not merely conducting counterterrorism — it was reducing global shipping costs, which would eventually translate into lower prices for American consumers. The military action and the economic agenda were connected.

Trump: “That’s False”

Trump seized on a specific media claim to correct the record.

“I watched a certain newscast over the weekend, and a congressman — Democrat congressman — said, ‘Well, Trump’s done a lot. I agree. He’s been great on the border. He’s been great on the military. But you know, he hasn’t brought prices down,’” Trump recounted.

His response: “That’s false. Gasoline’s way down. Eggs are way down. Groceries are down very substantially — but down. Almost everything’s down.”

He added one area where he wanted more progress: “Now, I’d like to see interest rates come down a little bit.”

Trump then connected the tariff agenda to the revenue it would generate: “And you’re going to see billions of dollars, even trillions of dollars coming into our country very soon in the form of tariffs, because we were abused by presidents. And frankly, in all fairness, it wasn’t their expertise, but they had no idea what they were doing.”

The correction of the Democratic congressman’s claim was important because it established that even Trump’s opponents were conceding success on the border and military — the debate had shifted from whether Trump was accomplishing anything to whether he had accomplished enough on prices. And on prices, Trump had the data: gasoline, eggs, and groceries were all declining.

”Everything Except Your Amazing Successes”

Waltz closed with the most comprehensive list of the administration’s achievements that the media was ignoring.

“We have our technical experts looking at it. We have our legal teams looking at it. And of course, we’re going to keep everything as secure as possible,” he said, addressing the security review. “No one on your national security team would ever put anyone in danger.”

He then cataloged what the media should be covering: “But the media wants to talk about everything else except for the hostages you’re getting out of the Middle East, Iran on its back foot, sea lanes getting reopened, peace in Europe.”

He added a new development: “As we just saw today with a Black Sea ceasefire — we were just on with Steve Witkoff, myself, our team in Saudi Arabia.”

Waltz concluded: “They want to talk about all this other stuff except for your amazing successes and the successes of your team.”

The Black Sea ceasefire was a significant diplomatic achievement that had received minimal coverage relative to the journalist controversy. The administration was negotiating peace in Ukraine, reopening global shipping lanes, extracting hostages from the Middle East, and putting Iran “on its back foot” — and the media was focused on how a journalist ended up in a group chat.

Key Takeaways

• NSA Waltz said “the world owes President Trump a favor” for crushing the Houthis: “Took out the head missileer, knocked out missiles, headquarters, and communications sites.”
• He contrasted Biden’s “pinprick attacks, months between them” with Trump’s decisive, comprehensive strikes that reopened global shipping lanes.
• Trump corrected a Democrat who said he hadn’t brought prices down: “That’s false. Gasoline’s way down. Eggs are way down. Groceries are down very substantially.”
• Waltz cataloged media-ignored achievements: hostages freed from the Middle East, Iran “on its back foot,” sea lanes reopened, Black Sea ceasefire negotiated.
• On the journalist controversy, Waltz committed to a review while pivoting: “This journalist wants the world talking about hoaxes rather than the freedom you’re enabling.”