Ousting 55-year-old Gen. H.R. McMaster as National Security Adviser, 71-year-old President Donald Trump continued to clean house, appointing 69-year-old foreign policy hawk John R. Bolton as his replacement. After firing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson March 13, Trump’s ready to face the biggest foreign policy challenges of his presidency: North Korean and Iran. Trump still needs to replace Tillerson with former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, something that could present problems in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Both Bolton and Pompeo are on the same page when it comes to Iran and North Korea, equally aligned in their views on Russia. McMaster urged Trump to not congratulate 65-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin for his March 18 landslide reelection for another six-year-term. Trump defied McMaster, signaling he wasn’t long for the job.
McMaster ran afoul with Trump earlier in the year agreeing with the prevailing wisdom that Russia influenced the 2016 election. Trump doesn’t disagree with the idea that Russian operatives tried to sway the election but disagrees strongly with McMaster and others on Capitol Hill who think that Russian influence tipped the election to Trump. Replacing McMaster with Bolton, Trump gets an experienced foreign policy hand, ready to hit-the-ground-running with North Korean and Iran. Having spent years on the front lines in the Bush-43 administration, Bolton served nearly two years as U.N. ambassador [2005-2006] and Under Secretary of State fir International Security [2001-2005]. Bolton’s only rub with Trump was his strong backing of the Iraq War, something Trump strongly opposed, pitting himself in the 2016 campaign against former President George W. Bush.
Bolton’s a proven commodity in national security, once on the short list before Trump picked Tillerson as his first Secretary of State When Rex was confirmed Feb. 1, 2017 [56-43], there were reservations among Republican senators about his inexperience, especially Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.). All reservations turned out to be true, with Rex taking dovish positions on North Korea and Iran but a more hawkish one on Russia. Both McMaster and Tillerson shared their views that Russian interfered in the 2016 election but couldn’t offer any proof that it had any impact on the vote. Bolton showed remarkable parallels to U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley, taking unpopular positions, often antagonizing U.S. allies and foes. Bolton was no more-or-less hawkish than Haley while serving as U.N. ambassador. With no Senate confirmation needed, National Security Adviser is the perfect pick for Bolton
McMaster seemed to clash with Trump especially about the role of Russian influence in the 2016 election. McMaster told the Munich Security Conference Feb. 16 that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election. “General McMaster forgot to say that the results of the 2016 election were not impacted or changed by the Russians and that the only collusion was between Crooked Hillary and DNC and the Dems,” Trump tweeted Feb. 17 after McMaster spoke. McMaster seemed to join Washington’s Russia hysteria, culminating March 21, urging Trump not to congratulate Putin. But unlike McMaster, Trump sees the big picture of the importance of having good relations with the Russian Federation. Urging Trump to not congratulate Putin showed that McMaster was more aligned with the anti-Trump media, blaming the president for not putting down the hammer on Russia for alleged meddling.
McMaster never got into defending Trump against his battled with the American press, busy finding fault with everything he does. When Trump attorney Matthew Dowd dealing with the Special Counsel Robert Mueller resigned today, the media had field day blaming Trump for the chaos. Yet last week the same media was all over Dowd for saying March 17 that Mueller should end the Russian collusion probe. Accusing Dowd of interfering with Mueller’s investigation, members of Congress, including Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), scolded Trump for Dowd’s remarks, saying it made him look guilty. Trump’s firing of Dowd should have been hailed by the media but now is used as proof of White House chaos. Unlike McMaster, Bolton won’t hesitate of defend Trump against unfair media treatment. McMaster admitted to the New York Times that Trump “has moved a lot of us out our comfort zone.”
Bolton’s choice as National Security Adviser shows Trump gearing up for what amounts to the pivotal foreign policy battles of his presidency. If he doesn’t get North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un to disarm his nukes and ballistic missiles, it could mean war on the Korean Peninsula. Having Bolton and Pompeo by his side, Trump has a better chance of pulling off what could be the biggest foreign policy coup in recent U.S. history: Disarming North Korea. Changing personnel at the White House, Trump hopes to get his team together before what looks like a make-or-break next couple of months. Whatever Trump’s quirks as president, he deserves Cabinet that advances his foreign and domestic policy agenda. While the media calls Trump chaotic, the president needs the right team in place to deal with North Korea and Iran, both critical foreign policy challenges facing the White House.
