There have been, are, and will be bureaucratic intrigues in the Trump administration — this is the opinion of John Bolton, who served as national security adviser in Trump’s first term and then entered into a tough conflict with him. In an interview with Playbook Deep Dive, he spoke about the revelations in Signal, the relationship between Trump and Putin, and also expressed hypotheses about who will be punished after Signalgate.
A direct violation of the law and a fatal mistake for the military
It is noteworthy that Bolton generally condemns the use of unprotected communication channels (such as instant messengers, including Signal) for communication between officials and especially for discussing military operations. Moreover, there are reliable alternatives for these purposes, in particular the Situation Room, secure phones in cars and on desktops. Billions of dollars were spent on installing the aforementioned government telecommunications system; its failure to use is as careless and illogical as, in Bolton’s opinion, inviting participants like Steve Witkoff to the chat.
According to Bolton, this scandal is not only a direct violation of the law, but also a fatal mistake that poses a threat to the safety of the American military. He notes that responsibility lies with all participants in the chat, including JD Vance. Today, we are seeing Vance demonstrating an openly anti-European position, perceiving intervention in Yemen as the salvation of Europe. Bolton disagrees with him: he believes that this position proves the vice president’s extremely primitive view of international relations.
Personal vendetta and local recognition of success
In the interview, Bolton recalls his long-standing conflict with Trump and clarifies that the current US president withdrew his Secret Service protection a few hours after the inauguration, despite threats to his life from Iraq. He calls it personal vendetta and argues that it proves the vulnerability of the United States to foreign enemies: “When foreign adversaries think that senior American officials — former or present — can be exposed if they fall out with Donald Trump, that tells them something about our vulnerability and it tells his current senior advisers something about their vulnerability too.”
At the same time, Bolton emphasizes Trump’s success in closing the southern border and acknowledges his effectiveness in curbing illegal immigration. He notes that most Americans are in favor of more immigration, but on the condition that they themselves should choose who comes. “[Trump] has got himself a victory on that score. I don’t think there’s any question about it,” Bolton concludes.
He also notes that Trump continues to rely on personal likes and dislikes in his policies, which makes him vulnerable to leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the same time, Putin himself, according to Bolton, needs to be careful not to overdo it and lose the concessions made by Trump.
