John Bolton criticizes Trump’s approach
to North Korea amid heightened tension
Fox News,
by
Edmund DeMarche
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
12/23/2019 7:29:57 AM
John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, criticized his old boss over the administration's misguided "rhetorical policy" toward North Korea along with its failure to exert "maximum pressure" during the high-stakes nuclear talks.Bolton’s comments, which were published late Sunday on Axios, come at a precarious time between Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. What once showed glimpses of an unlikely and historic foreign policy victory for Trump, now appears to be teetering on the brink of collapse.Bolton said he doesn't believe the administration "really means it" when they talk about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambition.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
philsner 12/23/2019 7:41:15 AM (No. 269647)
Of course he does.
Hey Siri, who is the President of the United States?
28 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
chillijilli 12/23/2019 8:24:43 AM (No. 269697)
Um, he's apparently signaling what kind of witness he'd be if called to testify.
Mitch, are you listening? Do NOT go there.
23 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
starboard 12/23/2019 8:44:28 AM (No. 269710)
Nothing new. Bolton is a hawk and President Trump gave him a chance as National Security Leader. We all know he wasn't a good pick for Trump.
Adios!
22 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
TexaTucky 12/23/2019 8:50:05 AM (No. 269718)
He didn't mean it when he threatened to impose tariffs on China either, did he, Johnny boy?
16 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
red1066 12/23/2019 9:14:27 AM (No. 269745)
I used to like John Bolton years ago. Now he's just another anti Trumper.
25 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
qr4j 12/23/2019 9:20:10 AM (No. 269754)
I respect Mr. Bolton, but I don't think he gets Mr. Trump. You can "really mean it" and still do things differently from the way Bolton would do them. As others have said, Mr. Trump really means it with China and its trade policies and practices. He has risked his presidency on it in many ways. And things are changing -- slowly -- on that front. Why wouldn't the same apply to North Korea?
12 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Kafka2 12/23/2019 9:28:28 AM (No. 269769)
President Trump's North Korea foreign policy showed glimpses of an unlikely and historic foreign policy victory. This was further than any other President has gotten in decades. Because,President Trump would not take his advise to exert "maximum pressure," John Bolton started openly criticizing him which emboldened North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un to resist. Now, that the agreement with Kim appears to be teetering on the brink of collapse. Bolton moved to guarantee collapse by saying he doesn't believe the administration "really means it" when they talk about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambition.
Like so many State Department professionals, Bolton seems hellbent on snatching failure from the jaws of success.
17 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
joew9 12/23/2019 9:34:14 AM (No. 269779)
Trump has played the part of a President trying to be friends with NK as much as possible.
Without being plainly sycophantic like the Clinton and Obama administrations.
That lays the ground work for him strongly responding to NK's actions.
Bolton has always been aggressive so any response from someone like him would be considered just more of his out of control cowboy tendencies.
10 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
jacksin5 12/23/2019 9:56:32 AM (No. 269805)
I always get a mental picture of John Bolton riding the nuke like Slim Pickens.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
greggojo 12/23/2019 9:59:07 AM (No. 269809)
Not helpful to the delicate state of things. Not helpful at all. Go away John, and keep your mouth shut.
13 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 12/23/2019 10:05:42 AM (No. 269825)
Maybe that’s why John is not working for him anymore. However I do appreciate his honest opinion. John is a bit impatient I think. Let Trumps strategy and plan play out.
6 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
stablemoney 12/23/2019 10:06:01 AM (No. 269826)
If Bolton was president, we would be in a war in Korea and Iran, with China impending.
10 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
felixcat 12/23/2019 10:09:27 AM (No. 269831)
From the same man who had written on a legal pad for all the world to see comments about 5000 thousand troops being sent to Columbia.
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
HotRod 12/23/2019 10:12:53 AM (No. 269836)
We need Hawks, just as we need pacifists, but not extremes of either persuasion. Bolton would have us in WW III already.
7 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Avikingman 12/23/2019 10:25:46 AM (No. 269855)
Good cop. Bad cop?
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
bighambone 12/23/2019 11:01:01 AM (No. 269888)
You can see why President Trump pushed John Bolton out the White House door, as Bolton and his extreme policy positions could have led to a shooting war with North Korea that at the least could have easily caused a lot of casualties and damage to South Korea.
In this instance, by jumping the gun and speaking out the way he did during this period of heightened tension, Bolton actually undercut the US position, and may actually encourage Kim of North Korea to make a big mistake like firing a long range ballistic missile towards the USA.
Remember President Trump has been trying to encourage Kim to bring North Korea out of the cold and into the modern world by changing their emphasis from developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons towards large scale commercial and other economic activities that have been so beneficial to other Asian countries. No other US President since the end of the Korean War in 1953 has made any headway at all in dealing with North Korea. Trump is the only US President who has even tried and has only been at that for a year or so. Since it takes two to tango, you really can’t legitimately blame Trump if Kim of North Korea now does something really crazy that will cause Trump to establish new and more effective sanctions against North Korea, possibly including a naval blockade to enforce sanctions by stopping oil running vessels from approaching North Korean waters. What is the alternative, a future nuclear exchange with North Korea?
6 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Geoman 12/23/2019 3:44:09 PM (No. 270044)
John Bolton had a lengthy track record long before President Trump appointed him into his position within the administration, yet no one dares question why he was appointed in the first place. The list of similar appointment backfires is uncomfortably long. Reagan's picks of Alex Haig and Jim Watt were also seen as a mistake in retrospect but Reagan was never above criticism for his choices.
0 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
cor-vet 12/23/2019 4:12:28 PM (No. 270049)
Once upon a time, in a political arena far, far away, I wished for Bolton to be named Ambassador to the UN. Then I began to notice that he was another John McCain, thinking any war is a good war. It's not Boltons life on the line, like it wasn't Sen. McCains. All I can think of now is how much military contractor cash is lubricating palms?
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
WhamDBambam 12/23/2019 6:34:20 PM (No. 270141)
It was once considered to be honorable to refrain from speaking about an Administration you served in high capacity until after it concluded.
2 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
czechlist 12/24/2019 5:25:18 PM (No. 270788)
Bolton has been in DC for decades but has not resolved Iran or NKorea. He doesn't want to solve problems because he needs the problems to remain relevent.
If Trump and his team resolves Iran and NKorea, all of the previous diplomats and military will look incompetent and will become impotent. They can't allow it to happen.
0 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
NYbob 12/24/2019 5:46:05 PM (No. 270803)
Well now he has shown that he is an egomaniac who isn't nearly as smart as HE thinks he is. Does John play poker?
1 person likes this.
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