The recently fired national security adviser made little secret of his disagreements with the president.
John Bolton, President Donald Trump’s fired national security adviser, harshly criticized Trump’s foreign policy on Wednesday at a private lunch, saying inviting the Taliban to Camp David sent a “terrible signal” and that it was “disrespectful” to the victims of 9/11 because the Taliban had harbored al Qaeda.
Bolton also said that any negotiations with North Korea and Iran were “doomed to failure,” according to two attendees.
All the North Koreans and Iranians want to do is negotiate for relief from sanctions to support their economies, said Bolton, who was speaking before guests invited by the Gatestone Institute, a conservative think tank.
“He ripped Trump, without using his name, several times,” said one attendee. Bolton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bolton also said more than once that Trump’s failure to respond to the Iranian attack on an American drone earlier this summer set the stage for the Islamic Republic’s aggression in recent months.
At one point, Bolton, a previous chairman of Gatestone, suggested that had the U.S. retaliated for the drone shootdown, Iran might not have damaged the Saudi oil fields.
Bolton called the alleged attack on Saudi Arabia, which U.S. and Saudi officials have blamed on Iran, “an act of war” by anyone’s definition.
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John Bolton, Trump’s fired national security adviser, harshly criticized Trump’s foreign policy today at a private lunch, saying inviting the Taliban to Camp David was “disrespectful” to the victims of 9/11 because the Taliban had harbored al Qaeda https://t.co/UVAeS0D41O
— POLITICO (@politico) September 18, 2019
Trump has a foreign policy? Who knew? As with everything else, foreign policy is at the whim of the president at any given moment. I don’t know how Bolton, like so many others who have been through the White House’s revolving door, lasted as long as he did. Trump doesn’t know what he wants on just about everything.
Trump was foolish not to listen to Bolton and even more foolish for letting him go. He always says he hires only the best people. What he doesn’t say is that he also fires the best people.
Bolton has been unwavering in his views and I guess that was his downfall. Trump needs people who can adapt to his changing whims. He needs a yes man. Bolton wasn’t it.
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