Former national security adviser John Bolton characterized Marco Rubio’s new dual role as secretary of state and national security adviser as “absolutely bizarre,” suggesting during an interview that it could make President Trump look bad.
“An organized White House would announce the successor immediately. And the fact that they didn’t have a successor showed they weren’t ready to make the announcement and to have Marco Rubio serve on an interim basis is just absolutely bizarre,” Bolton, a frequent Trump critic, said during a Thursday appearance on CNN.
On Thursday, Trump altered the makeup of his national security team, yanking Mike Waltz, a former House GOP lawmaker, as national security adviser and shifting him to a new role as ambassador to the United Nations. Waltz’s new role will require a Senate confirmation.
Trump said in a Thursday evening post on Truth Social that Rubio would serve in Waltz’s post on an interim basis.
Rubio became the first official since the late-Henry Kissinger to serve as both the country’s top diplomat and national security adviser concurrently.
Bolton, who served as both the national security adviser and UN ambassador, argued on Thursday that the remake of the team’s leadership indicates that Trump lacks an adequate strategy.
“People say with great confidence, ‘Oh, well, you know, Waltz wasn’t in tune with the President and that’s why he had to go.’ Well, who hired Waltz? I mean, who knows who’s in tune with the president better than the president? This shows Trump has no philosophy, no national security strategy, doesn’t do policy,” Bolton told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Bolton said Trump hired Waltz because he “expected fealty.”
“And, when Waltz exposed Trump to political liability because of the Signal group chat, that was all Trump needed,” Bolton added, referring to Waltz inadvertently adding The Atlantic’s editor to a Signal chat with top national security officials where sensitive details about forthcoming airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen were discussed.
“That was not sufficient fealty — that’s what the cause of the departure is,” the former UN ambassador said.
Rubio will reportedly hold the dual role for some time. Politico reported on Friday evening that Rubio will be the U.S.’s national security adviser for at least six months, citing three senior White House officials.
