‘President Bolton’ Treads Lightly As He Enacts Trump’s America-First Agenda

on October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks during a White House news briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. White House P... WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 03: National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks during a White House news briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House October 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders held a news briefing to answer questions from members of the White House press corps. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS

National Security Adviser John Bolton has earned the nickname “President Bolton” among his critics for shrinking the number of people who are looped in on key policy discussions and fervently enacting President Trump’s “America first” agenda in national security matters, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bolton has received criticism for his cunning ability to help shape Trump’s agenda interests in a way that aligns with his own personal crusades, like axing U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court, a topic that was not on Trump’s radar until Bolton joined the administration.

And people close to Bolton told the WSJ that the national security adviser must tread lightly if he wants to remain in the good grace of Trump, a president who has made it clear he doesn’t like to share the spotlight.

“If John ever behaved in a way that led people in the administration to refer to him as ‘President Bolton,’ his effectiveness would be destroyed,” longtime Bolton friend and former member of President George W. Bush’s National Security Council Elliott Abrams told the WSJ. “It’s critical that the President never think that, and no one understands that better than John.”

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  1. “If John ever behaved in a way that led people in the administration to refer to him as ‘President Bolton,’ his effectiveness would be destroyed,”

    The Wall Street Journal reports his nickname is President Bolton. Then they include a quote from a Bolton friend saying such a nickname will earn Trump's enmity.
    
    So, why does the WSJ have it in for Bolton? That's my takeaway.
  2. Avatar for bob-o bob-o says:

    Having an ego gets you every time, when you work for a narcissist.

  3. It is appropriate that Trump (and Bolton) aligns himself with the movement that allowed Nazi Germany to overrun most of continental Europe without lifting a finger. With an expansionist Russia and an isolationist America, the message to Putin (and our former European allies) couldn’t be clearer. NATO is a US protection racket – pay up or you’re on your own.

  4. But, but, but, what does President Stephen Miller have to say about this? Or President Mattis?? Or President Pompeo??

  5. Avatar for miksat miksat says:

    Wow! Kind words from the odious Elliott Abrams. That’s a real feather in Bolton’s cap.

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