Day 964: Bolton, third National Security Advisor in less than three years, ousted
Donald Trump’s staffing decisions continue to be horrendous.
The role of National Security Advisor (APNSA) is a critical one. The person tapped for the position wields substantial power in shaping a president’s decision-making. Beyond politics, the APNSA should lay out all the options for a president when it comes to national security issues. They work with a president nearly every day, and a good working relationship is key.
Donald Trump just ran off his John Bolton, necessitating the search for his fourth APNSA in less than three years. Trump’s three APNSAs have lasted 24 days (Michael Flynn), 412 days (H.R. McMaster) and 520 days (Bolton). One previous candidate for the role, in declining, called working under the current administration a “shit sandwich.”
By way of historical comparison, Barack Obama had three APNSAs in eight years. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton had two in each of their eight terms. George H.W. Bush had one in his four years.
Bolton was an odd choice from the beginning, considering he was a warmonger, continued to seek out hostilities and even still thought the invasion in Iraq was a net-positive for the U.S.
The Trump-Bolton pairing didn’t improve. Trump had trouble remembering Bolton’s name, and Bolton would publicly throw Trump under the bus from time to time. Bolton got benched for high-level meetings, seemingly to greatly undercut the amount of advice he could actually give.
Overall, it’s another monstrous loss for Trump’s promise while campaigning to hire the “best people” underneath him. The final straw for Bolton apparently came when he disagreed with hosting the Taliban on U.S. soil days before the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Even the narrative surrounding the exit was odd.
Trump claimed Bolton was fired.
Bolton claimed he voluntarily resigned.
Someone’s obviously lying, and it appears to be Trump since Tuesday morning the White House scheduled Bolton for a press conference just hours later.
Ultimately, it’s mostly inconsequential whether Bolton was fired or quit. The bigger story is the perpetually revolving door of senior level positions that continues to rotate under Trump.
964 days in, 498 to go
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