US President dent Donald Trump said Tuesday that he withdrew Secret Service protection to John Bolton, his former national security advisor and one of his most outspoken critics, because “you can’t have that for life.”
He said: “I thought he was very dumb person, but I used him well, because every time people saw him standing behind me, they thought he would attack them, because he is a war monger. He, along with (Dick) Cheney and a couple of others, convinced (George) Bush, which was a terrible decision, to blow up the Middle East. And we got nothing out of it, except a lot of death. We killed a lot of people. And John Bolton was one of those guys.”
Reacting, one user wrote: “Love when Trump goes so no filter he sounds like Noam Chomsky.”
Another wrote: “No politician has ever pointed out that The Emperor has No Clothes more than Trump. It’s one of the biggest factors behind his success imo.”
Another wrote: “Hit me up when a democrat party leader speaks like this and maybe I’ll vote Democrat again.”
US President Donald Trump defended his decision to revoke Secret Service protection for John Bolton, his former national security advisor and a vocal critic, stating, “You can’t have that for life.”
Bolton, 76, who served during Trump’s first term and was previously the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot, expressed disappointment but said the move was unsurprising.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump criticized Bolton, calling him a “very dumb person” and a “stupid guy.” He justified his decision by saying, “We’re not going to have security on people for the rest of their lives. Why should we? You can’t have that for life.”
The president further remarked, “I thought he was a very dumb person, but I used him well. People saw him behind me in meetings and thought he’d attack them because he was a warmonger.”
In addition to withdrawing Bolton’s protection, Trump revoked his security clearance through an executive order, accusing Bolton of disclosing “sensitive information from his time in government” in a 2020 memoir critical of the administration.
Bolton responded on social media, referencing a 2022 Justice Department case against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official accused of attempting to hire a hitman to assassinate him. “That threat remains today,” Bolton wrote, citing a recent arrest related to a plot against Trump himself.
Despite his critiques of President Joe Biden’s national security policies, Bolton acknowledged that Biden extended Secret Service protection to him in 2021. “The American people can judge for themselves which President made the right call,” he added.
The State Department has since announced a $20 million reward for information leading to the capture of the alleged Iranian mastermind behind the plot against Bolton. US officials have also accused Iran of planning to assassinate Trump in retaliation for the 2020 US drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
With inputs from agencies
