OF THIS AND INFORMING SOME SOURCES THAT BOLTON IS OUT AND
PEOPLE TRYING TO PROCESS THIS IN
REAL TIME.
REAL TIME. HERE’S THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT
BOLTON’S DISMISSAL.
BOLTON’S DISMISSAL. IT’S THE TONE OF PRESIDENT
TRUMP’S DISMISSAL.
TRUMP’S DISMISSAL. IT’S CLEARLY THIS IS NOT
AMICABLE.
AMICABLE. WE KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN HUGE
DIVISIONS WITHIN THE
ADMINISTRATION MOST RECENTLY
SURFACING OVER WHAT TO DO ABOUT
AFGHANISTAN MORE THAN JUST
HOSTING THE TALIBAN AT CAMP
DAVID.
DAVID. THIS GOT TO THE CORE OF WHAT
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP CAM
PAWNED ON, AND THAT IS GETTING
OUT OF FOREIGN WARS.
WE KNOW BOLTON WAS MORE FOR
STAYING LONGER, POMPEO WAS ON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS.
THIS IS A CLEAR WIN FOR MIKE
POMPEO AS HE CONTINUES TO
CONSOLIDATE POWER.
CONSOLIDATE POWER. BOLTON IS THE FOURTH NATIONAL
SECURITY ADVISER THIS PRESIDENT
HAS HAD.
HAS HAD. LET ME CORRECT MYSELF AS I COUNT
THEM UP.
THEM UP. HE IS THE FOURTH.
IT’S AN INDICATION OF MORE
RECYCLING AT THE TOP, AND ANDREA
THIS HAS LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS
FOR A WHOLE HOST OF ISSUES
THAT’S IRAN, THAT’S NORTH KOREA,
THAT’S THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE
PROCESS, THAT’S VENEZUELA.
JOHN BOLTON WAS INTEGRAL IN ALL
THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
THOSE CONVERSATIONS. THE PRESIDENT HAS OFTEN SAID HE
LIKED BOLTON’S HAWKISH NATURE
AND HE LIKED TO HAVE THE
SPECTRUM THERE TO BE MORE
BELLICOSE HIMSELF.
BELLICOSE HIMSELF. BOLTON IS OUT.
WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT JUST WHAT
THE PROXIMATE CAUSE IS AND WHO
WILL REPLACE HIM AND WHAT IT
MEANS FOR THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADMINISTRATION AND FOR A WHOLE
HOST OF ISSUES ACROSS THE GLOBE.
>> OF COURSE BOLTON ALMOST
AUDITIONED FOR THE JOB AS A FOX
NEWS COMMENTATOR VERY VIGOROUSLY
AGAINST IRAN AS IS POMPEO.
SO, ON THAT, THEY DID NOT
DISAGREE.
DISAGREE. BUT HE HAS BEEN DRIVING A LOT OF
THE ACTION ON IRAN, CERTAINLY
WAS NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE
PRESIDENT SUGGESTING HE WOULD BE
WILLING TO TALK TO IRANIAN
LEADERS.
LEADERS. YOU’VE GOT THE UN GENERAL
ASSEMBLY MEETINGS COMING UP IN
TWO WEEKS.
TWO WEEKS. WE’RE THERE IN NEW YORK FOR THE
UN MEETINGS.
UN MEETINGS. THE PRESIDENT IS GIVING A MAJOR
SPEECH ON THE 24th AT THE UNITED
NATIONS.
NATIONS. AND NOW HIS NATIONAL SECURITY
ADVISER HAS BEEN FIRED.
ONE OTHER THING ABOUT JOHN
BOLTON I WANT TO POINT OUT AND
I’M GOING TO BRING IN NED PRICE
HERE ON THE PHONE, FORMER
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT
OBAMA.
OBAMA. THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOHN
BOLTON AND ALL HIS PREDECESSORS
GOING BACK IN ANY ADMINISTRATION
I’VE COVERED IS HE DID NOT
OVERSEE THE DEPUTIES MEETINGS.
HE DID NOT CONVENE OTHER
AGENCIES.
AGENCIES. HE OPERATED UNILATERALLY VERY
FREQUENTLY.
FREQUENTLY. SO, HE WAS NOT FACTORING IN THE
OPINIONS OF THE PENTAGON, OF THE
CIA, OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT IN
DECISIONS THAT HE BROUGHT TO THE
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. AND THAT WAS ONE SUBJECT OF A
LOT OF CRITICISM.
EVEN WITH HAD I WAS INTERVIEWING
DAN COATS SOMEWHAT FAMOUSLY NOW
IN RETROSPECT LAST SUMMER IN
ASPEN WHEN THAT TWEET WENT OUT
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE THAT PUTIN
FIVE DAYS AFTER THE VERY
CONTROVERSIAL MEETING IN
HELSINKI WITH VLADIMIR PUTIN
THAT PUTIN WAS BEING INVITED TO
THE WHITE HOUSE.
THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, THE
SECRETARY OF STATE HAD NOT BEEN
CONSULTED.
CONSULTED. THAT WAS ALL THE PRESIDENT,
APPARENTLY IN COMMUNICATION WITH
PUTIN TO BOLTON DIRECTLY TO
SARAH SANDERS TO TWEET OUT THE
INVITATION AND WITHOUT
CONSULTING ANYONE ELSE IN THE
TEAM WHETHER OR NOT THIS WAS A
GOOD OR BAD IDEA.
HANS.
HANS. >> Reporter: IN SOME WAYS BOLTON
RAN HIS OWN STATE DEPARTMENT.
YOU’LL RECALL THE TIME HE
ANNOUNCED THE CARRIER STRIKE
GROUP HEADING TO THE MIDDLE
EAST.
EAST. THAT DIDN’T COME FROM THE
PENTAGON, THE STATE DEPARTMENT,
THE PRESIDENT.
THE PRESIDENT. IT CAME FROM THE NEURAL ADVISER.
WHAT YOU SAW FROM BOLTON WAS
TRYING TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE
PRESIDENT, SOMETIMES BOXING HIM
IN TO MORE BELLICOSE POSITIONS,
MORE HAWKISH POSITIONS.
THIS HAS BEEN A FUNDAMENTAL
QUESTION THROUGHOUT THE TRUMP
ADMINISTRATION AND THAT IS TO
WHAT EXTENT IS HE GOING TO BE A
TRADITIONAL REPUBLICAN AND WHAT
EXTENT IS HE GOING TO BE AN
ISOLATIONIST.
ISOLATIONIST. TRUMP’S IMPULSES ON THIS ARE
CLEAR.
CLEAR. HE WANTED TO DRAW DOWN FROM
AFGHANISTAN.
AFGHANISTAN. HE WANTED TO GET OUT OF CERTAIN
WARS.
WARS. YOU SAW THAT WITH SYRIA AS WELL.
THE PRESIDENT WANTED TO BRING
DOWN TROOPS THERE.
EVEN THOUGH PRESIDENT TRUMP
CRITICIZED PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR
WHAT TRUMP SAID AT THE TIME WAS
WITHDRAWING FROM IRAQ TOO SOON.
THE QUESTION OF THE HOUR IS HOW
FUNDAMENTAL IS THIS SPLIT WITHIN
THE ADMINISTRATION NOW OR IS IT
CLEAR THAT THE ISOLATIONISTS
HAVE WON, AND ARE THERE ANY
COUNTERWEIGHTS TO THIS
BOLTON/TRUMP.
BOLTON/TRUMP. MIKE PENCE WAS ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE AFGHANISTAN DECISION.
MIKE PENCE CANNOT BE DISMISSED.
HE IS A CONSTITUTIONALLY
ENSCONCED FIGURE.
ENSCONCED FIGURE. IF HE HAS DISAGREEMENTS, THOSE
CANNOT BE DISMISSED BY SIMPLY
FIRING THE VICE PRESIDENT.
THIS GIVES THE SENSE THAT THE
SPLITS ARE REAL, THERE’S SERIOUS
DEBATE ABOUT THE COURSE OF
CERTAIN FOREIGN POLICIES, AND WE
NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT
MEANS.
MEANS. THE PRESIDENT MAY BE MEETING
WITH THE IRANIANS.
YOU MENTIONED THE UNITED NATIONS
MEETING NEXT WEEK.
THE NORTH KOREANS JUST LAST
NIGHT SUGGESTED THEY’RE WILLING
TO HAVE A THIRD OR FOURTH
MEETING DEPENDING ON HOW YOU
COUNT THE ONE THEY HAD IN THE
DMZ.
DMZ. THAT’S AFTER THEY SENT
PROJECTILES INTO THE OCEAN
THERE.
THERE. AND THEN A QUESTION ON WHAT THE
NEXT STAGES WILL BE IN THE
MIDDLE EAST, ESPECIALLY WITH
NETANYAHU AND ISRAEL RIGHT NOW
TALKING ABOUT AN EXING MORE OF
THE JORDAN VALLEY.
TUM MULTIWOUS TIME, DIFFERENT