Day 773: Bolton alternates between throwing Trump under the bus and offering bizarre defense of him

The National Security Advisor was all over the map on Sunday.

The position of Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor is one fraught with particular challenges.

Michael Flynn lasted 24 days before being forced to resign due to connections with Russia and lying to the FBI, a crime for which he pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government regarding.

H.R. McMaster technically lasted 412 days. It was clear Trump tuned him out early into his tenure and there was little rapport between the two men. Numerous reports indicated Trump frequently mocked the all-business McMaster behind his back. (McMaster only got the job when multiple others passed on it, including one who presciently referred to it as a “shit sandwich.”)

Next on the job is the current NSA, John Bolton, who was a questionable pick from the start. (Trump’s only hesitation in picking Bolton didn’t stem from the fact that Bolton pushed for the war in Iraq and still believes it was a success and the right decision, but rather that Bolton sports a large mustache.) Bolton has been mired in a number of issues in his first year on the job, including recently being caught on camera with “5,000 troops to Colombia” scribbled on the top sheet of a notepad after leaving a meeting related to Venezuela. The lack of a cover page potentially revealed classified information, or, at the very least, high level strategic communications.

Bolton wants to keep his high-ranking position and Trump happy, so he is going to absurd lengths to defend Trump. But the absurdity of Bolton’s claims often have the opposite effect: they highlight Trump’s feckless statements even more.

For instance, when pressed on what he believed the outcome of the second meeting with Kim Jong-un was, Bolton demurred to Trump’s view multiple times, even though the question is posed about his own view.

Jake Tapper correctly calls out Bolton when he says his opinion is irrelevant. Bolton is quite literally the chief advisor to Trump on national security issues. The role exists to give advice, options and opinions to the president. Not only is his opinion relevant, it’s important.

Bolton also tried changing the meaning of basic English words and grammar on behalf of Trump.

So after all but saying he disagrees with Trump multiple times, Bolton changed the argument to try and explain away what Trump meant. “I’m going to take him at his word.” can only mean one thing: I believe him. Instead, Bolton tries to get that sentence to mean, “I heard him say that.”

Bolton seems confused about what he’s supposed to do in his current role and how to defend Trump. Sunday was the epitome of that, as he vacillated between distancing himself from Trump and offering a pathetic excuse for Trump’s sycophantic words toward Kim.

773 days in, 689 to go

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