The vice admiral who declined Trump's offer for Mike Flynn's job doesn't want to talk about it

Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward was supposed to be the guy to replace Michael Flynn as President Donald Trump's national security adviser. Then he declined the job and reportedly said the offer was a "shit sandwich," according to CNN's Jake Tapper. Harward was also supposed to appear on TV over the weekend to talk about his decision — but he backed out of that, too.

Harward was booked to appear on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos. One hour before airtime Sunday, the show's Twitter account posted about the last-minute cancellation: "Vice Admiral Bob Harward committed to joining us on @ThisWeekABC, but an hour ago he said he was unable to appear. We hope to have him soon."

Following Flynn's resignation, the administration tapped Harward as his replacement. In a statement, Harward cited "financial and family issues" as preventing him from being able to make a full commitment to the post.

But on Friday, MSNBC's Chris Hayes reported Harward declined the gig after the administration denied his request to take Trump's political advisers off the national security council. In January, Trump signed an executive order that took the unprecedented step of giving chief strategist Steve Bannon a permanent seat on the National Security Council.

MSNBC also reported that Harward had been open to reconsidering and accepting the offer, but decided against it after watching Trump's bizarre performance at his press conference Thursday.