Former CIA Director Michael Hayden dished Sunday on what he expects to be President-elect Trump’s first major challenge in the White House.
“North Korea. … They’re going to do something provocative,” Hayden said of the hermit nation on John Catsimatidis’ radio show “The Cats Roundtable.” North Korea has carried out two nuclear weapons tests and multiple failed missile launches this year, which prompted the United Nations to respond with more extensive sanctions.
Offering some advice for the incoming Republican president, Hayden said he wants Trump to know that the are “major tectonic shifts” occurring in the global strategic situation that must be addressed.
“The world order [of the last 75 years] is going away. … The question for the new president is: How much of a role do you think the U.S. should play in creating the global structures going forward?”, Hayden said.
Hayden also expressed his approval for Trump’s nominee for to run the CIA, Rep. Mike Pompeo.
“The word from the intel community was they thought that was a pretty good pick. … I think a lot of folks in the agency are going to be happy to see him,” he said.
Hayden, who served as head of the CIA from 2006 to 2009, has been a constant critic of Trump’s, calling him in a recent op-ed “Russia’s useful fool.” In August, during the election, Hayden signed a letter, along with 49 other conservative national security officials, which stated Trump is unqualified to be commander in chief, and said that Trump was a “clear and present danger.”
