Within hours of being sworn in, Trump canceled Secret Service security, even though the Iranians set a price for your head.How does it feel to know 5 years after you divided up with him that he inactive thinks about you the first day he gets back to the White House?
I'm glad she's reasoning about me. I guess that's all I can say.
Of course, this had an effect on me and others whose protection he cancelled, but more impact on the United States itself. erstwhile abroad opponents think that high-ranking American officials — were or were present — can be exposed if they fall out of Donald Trump, it tells them something about our weakness, and his current elder advisors besides something about their weakness. This is not the way to manage.
Are you afraid for your life now without that protection?Did you gotta pay private security?
I'm in the process of preparing details that I won't go into. But it's not an net hate. This threat — not only to me, but besides to Trump and Pompeo, Esper, Milley and others — is the consequence of years of Iranian reflection and reasonably solid information about the nature of the threat. I don't think the Iranians quit easily. They were chasing Trump just before the election. There have been allegations of who tried to hire Trump's own killer in the pre-election period, which is rather impudent. So it's inactive up to date, there's no uncertainty about it.
Signalgate. "It's simply unimaginable"
Let's talk about Signalgate.When you were a national safety advisor, how frequently did you post very delicate plans for a chat attack on a Signal communicator with a reporter?
Well, I didn't usage Signal at the time, and I had a beautiful simple approach to the case.
By the way, I was sarcastic.
I would say that there are 2 types of communication erstwhile you are in 1 of these advanced administrative positions. There is communication through a safe government telecommunications network, on which we have spent billions of dollars and decades of efforts to make it impenetrable to our enemies. So there's this 1 option and different options, and each of these another options is unacceptable.
How does a well-oiled national safety apparatus operate on a weekend outside of the workplace?The White home says: “Oh, they were all everywhere.We were not in the office.”Looks like that's no excuse.
If you want to have a group conversation, it's for this place: it's called Situation Room. And if it's Saturday or Sunday, that's a shame, right? The United States is going to engage in the usage of military force. Is there anything more important?
Secondly, with a fewer exceptions on this list — like Steve Witkoff, whose presence is inexplicable to me — but the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the manager of National Intelligence, the manager of the CIA, the National safety Advisor, are never further distant from safe telecommunications. I had this kind of chance implemented in my home. I had a peculiar area built in my basement by the National safety Council staff. All these people get protection 1 way or another. They have safe phones in the vehicles they travel. They have safe communicators on their desks. It's just unimaginable.
Ritchie B. TONGO / PAPerstwhile safety advisor for Donald Trump, John Bolton, during a speech at the 40th anniversary of the Formosian Public Affairs Association (FAPA) in Taipei, Taiwan, May 1, 2023.
Bolton: It is not actual that Hegseth “had an work to inform these people”
Let's talk about the consequences.You know better than anyone that there are 2 things Trump hates most.First, he hates the embarrassing headlines — everything that makes him look bad, he doesn’t like it.But he besides hates giving longtime critics victory. So far, we've seen that his fear that his critics would win if individual was fired protected Michael Waltz.But at what point do you think embarrassment becomes the most crucial thing to him?
The first is the most important. If he believes that as a consequence he is suffering political harm, I think that the hazard for everyone active is increasing, both in terms of maintaining his occupation and the hazard of a real investigation. I think as long as Donald Trump doesn't feel hot, no 1 will be investigated, and no 1 will lose his job, at least in the short term. But what did all this do to Trump's view of the workers themselves? How much will he take before he says it's not worth the risk?
It won't happen this week or next week or next week. But before that, we had an incidental with Hegseth, individual was expected to invitation Musk to the Pentagon for a briefing on the Chinese war plan. Remember that war plan?
I remember.
Trump later explicitly said that he did not think anyone should receive a briefing on the Chinese war plan. This is the right position. He added: “You know that Elon has many interests in China. This could be a conflict of interest."
Well, it could indeed be a conflict of interest. And that was another signal. He didn't like it. So I think Hegseth already scored 1 point against himself. The issue of Signal chat could be the second. But at any point, people become vulnerable. Only no action will be taken until at least a fewer months have passed.
It's interesting that you mentioned Pete Hegseth due to the fact that any people were amazed that all the attention was focused on Michael Waltz.We're talking to people in the White House, and anger isn't directed at Hegseth.From my own conversations, everything is focused on Waltz.And yet this Pete Hegseth posted this confidential information about attacks and schedules on chat. What can we learn from the fact that people close to Donald Trump do not mention the Secretary of Defense?Even yesterday, the president said: “Pete did nothing wrong.It was all Mike’s.”What do you think?
Well, I think that says Waltz is more susceptible and I don't think that's entirely fair. Everyone in this chat group in Signal had a work to defend government secrets, and daddy on this chat, the highest-ranking official, was vice president.
Waltz could have started this, but everyone else allowed it. Hegseth said in his defense, “Well, I had a work to inform these people.” No, he didn't. Treasure Secretary Scott Bessent doesn't request to know erstwhile the second F-18 strike squad will launch. I think the only individual another than Hegseth himself who should be kept informed was Waltz, due to the fact that he might gotta hand over to the president or individual else.
BONNIE CASH / PAPU.S. National safety Advisor Mike Waltz (L) and U.S. defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the proceeding of the legislature Armed Services Commission, Washington, 14 January 2025.
Is it true, however, that the Secretary of defence can declassified information for a whim?Do Trump officials have any reason to trust on the thought that if he decides that something is not secret, then it is not classified?
When it comes to defence against criminal conduct, if something isn't classified, it could have something to do with it. However, it should be remembered that the discussion "Did they violate the law?“ vs. “Did they simply do something that no reasonable individual should have done?“ draws attention from the most crucial issue, which is the possible vulnerability of U.S. servants to danger.
I would say: remember what the celebrated French statesman, Marquis de Talleyrand erstwhile said: “A mistake is worse than a crime.” And that was a mistake.
Vance’s “Primitive View”
If we didn't see it in speech by Vice president J.D. Vance at the Munich safety Conference, we surely learned from the Signal chat that it has quite a few contempt for Europe.He made it clear that, in his view, the intervention against the Hutich was to save Europe. Can you tell us what is behind J.D. Vance's reluctance to Europe?Of course you don't agree, do you?
Well, I can't explain what motivates Vance, but I think it reflects a very primitive view of global relations. And it's not truly that different from Trump, where everything is simply a substance of dollars and cents. They do not appreciate what a collective safety and collective defence organisation like NATO is, or the benefits it brings to the United States.
I think that we are partially suffering from 35 years after the end of the Cold War, erstwhile we have been told insufficiently about why America has strategical interests all over the planet and why we request to defend them, why far-sighted American policy brings us benefits.
Take, for example, the situation in Yemen, where the Huti blocked the Suez Canal and the sea crossing the Red Sea. And while it is actual that most of the trade that goes through it takes place between Europe and another parts of the world, the fundamental rule of American abroad policy was to believe in the freedom of the seas. And I'll tell a small secret to those who don't know it: the seas extend everywhere. Eventually, they're all connected. erstwhile we saw the violation of the freedom of the seas, throughout our past we acted to end it, no substance how much the another people's interests were.
EPA/WILL OLIVER / PAPUS Vice president J.D. Vance at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, USA, March 10, 2025.
The Way to Donald Trump
You mentioned that president Trump's happiest was at an authoritative dinner with Queen Elizabeth.He's not in the same place as Vance.It speaks of NATO in the context that another countries request to spend more money, but it does not say, “We will blow it all up”, at least not at this point. You think he'll end up in the same place as Vance?
I don't think Trump thinks conceptually, so there are parts of Europe that he likes and he doesn't like. Keir Starmer made a very clever decision during his first visit, bringing an invitation from King Charles to another state visit. And as you said, I've never seen Trump happier than in a frak with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. And I gotta say, it was rather an opportunity. Another dinner with King Charles? another monarchs in Europe should do the same.
He was excited to invitation reopening Notre Dame Cathedral by president Macron, before the inauguration. He did real estate, so he knows about cathedrals and stuff. There are ways to scope Trump that Europeans should think about. I don't think Vance thought it might be a problem for him.
“Trump thinks he and Putin are friends”
We request to talk about Ukraine and Russia.Trump's trick is seemingly to lure Putin to the table with carrots and effort to coerce Zelensky with a stick.Is there a affirmative explanation why Trump shows so much respect for Russia and treats Ukraine so harshly?
In contrast, he had no good relations with Zelenski since the celebrated ‘excellent telephone call’ of 2019, Which led to his first impeachment. He so believes that if he gives his friends certain benefits, specified as all the concessions he has already made on Ukraine, it will aid bring peace. He wants this war over. He thinks it's Biden's war. During the campaign, he said it would never happen if he were the president.
Then they released the hostage, Mark Foley. Lukashenko and Belarus then released another American hostage. That's how manipulation works.
Now I think Putin must be very careful not to exaggerate and not hazard losing any of Trump's concessions. Trump released a message that indicated that he might think Putin was acting slowly. So it is not inevitable that Putin will get everything he wants. He may make a mistake, but the odds are in his favour now. And I think he wants to slow things down due to the fact that he believes that dynamics on the battlefield is flowing towards him.
Donald Trump vs China
What do you think of Trump's attitude towards China?He talked about being tough on Beijing for a long time.But then he delayed the TikTok Act enforcing the ban without disinvestment. Many Republicans in the Capitol were very upset that the administration had removed this provision from the spending bill in December, which would limit American investment in China.How do you feel about his current position — can you even specify it?
Well, I think she blames China for losing in the 2020 election due to COVID-19.
But besides, returning to his first term, he wants to at any point negociate with China the largest trade agreement in human history. So if you look at the very turbulent first 2 months, while China and the United States exchanged tariff measures, it was comparatively quiet compared to many another fronts. I think Xi Jinping is waiting to see what Trump is going to do, and I think Trump, hoping for this chance to make the biggest trade deal in history, was not yet inclined to turn the temperature up.
You were very critical of president Trump and his current abroad policy, but I wonder if there's anything you think he's doing internationally right now?
I think the sealing of the confederate border is going very well. He doesn't do what he wants erstwhile it comes to deportation. He may never succeed, but it turns out that he was able to seal the border in his first word and is now doing so again due to the fact that the rule of deterrence besides works against undocumented immigrants. If they think they're going to cross Central America and Mexico, they're going to scope Rio Grande and not get to the US, they're smart adequate not to leave their homes.
I think most Americans advocate greater immigration, but we should choose who comes. In this respect he was victorious. I think there's no uncertainty about it.
