Report: Bolton Left Because Trump Wasn’t Hawkish Enough About Iran

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as National Security Adviser John Bolton listens. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Former National Security Advisor John Bolton reportedly left the White House because he opposed President Donald Trump opting to soften his administration’s pressure campaign against Iran.

In an Axios report published on Saturday, an unnamed Bolton ally said that Bolton, an outspoken advocate for hawkish foreign policy measures, resigned after Trump told him in a meeting last week that he was considering lifting some sanctions on Iran.

After Bolton’s ouster, Trump told the press that he was considering talks with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Tehran’s nuclear program and the administration’s sanctions.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted that there were “definitely” areas of disagreement with the ex-national security advisor, but declined to specify.

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Notable Replies

  1. Makes me wonder if Bolt-on attacked the Saudi refinery?

  2. That report is bullshit: Bolton left because he was fired and he had absolutely no idea it was coming.

    This “report” comes from a “leak” which is probably Bolton himself.

    The odds that he might try to go rogue and actually speak out critically against Trumpian “appeasement” (in his mind, that’s what he’d call it) suddenly look a lot better…

  3. Bolton left because he never should have arrived.
    His huge ego up against another huge ego was not a marriage made in Heaven or Hell.
    They should kiss and say goodbye.

  4. Bolton will only push so far. He won’t risk getting cut off from the Right Wing Money Tit.

  5. Avatar for pshah pshah says:

    If true, this speaks very poorly of Trump’s management skills. One thing about John Bolton -he’s never hid his desire to bomb Iran into oblivion (and almost every other nation as well). Trump had to know this and hired him anyway, perhaps because he looked “good” spouting pseudo intellectual babble on Fox.

    So either Trump changed his mind on Iran from hawk to dove, was a dove to begin with and hired Bolton anyway, or, and most likely, never really thought about it, except wanting to get Obama.

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