# John Bolton fired via Tweet
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [September 10, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990 "2019-09-10T16:13:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/21 "2019-09-10T18:18:33Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#):
>
> [Bolton counter Tweets](https://twitter.com/AmbJohnBolton/status/1171455806069305346)!
>
> Dysfunctional fucking shitshow.
And now comes the “disavowal” tweets.
“Totally ill prepared and ill equipped John Bolton (I didn’t really know him) made up a story that he resigned. He is a liar and a terrible negotiator and I fired him like a dog. Sad!”
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/22 "2019-09-10T18:36:51Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> And Churchill believed that they needed to slap Germany on the wrist after they remilitarized the Rhineland.
>
> One notes that Israel has destroyed a number of Iranian military possessions in Syria, near the Israeli border, as “slaps on the wrist” and those were effective and did not lead to war. They just stopped Iran from continually testing the resolve of Israel.
>
> Asserting that X means war does not mean that X means war. That view needs to be backed by evidence and reason, not a personal animosity for military action, regardless of everything.
>
> The current evidence is that Iran is rational. They take what they can get away with and stop when they can’t.
I’ll also note the (probable) Obama era effort to destroy Iran’s uranium refinery which, in end result, was likely one component of bringing them to the table for a deal.
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### Author:  [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/23 "2019-09-10T18:46:11Z")
> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> Trump probably thought he had hired Michael Bolton, and it took him this long to figure out who the guy with the walrus mustache was that kept showing up.
Let him change \*his \*name. He’s the one who sucks.
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### Author:  [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/24 "2019-09-10T19:19:01Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> I’ll also note the (probable) Obama era effort to destroy Iran’s uranium refinery
In a darkly humorous correction, Bolton had a senior government job when that operation looks like it began.
He was UN Ambassador in 2006. That’s when the overall operation started under Bush. That’s not in a position where Bolton would be expected to have input but its an interesting example of continuity between administrations. That type of continuity often gets ignored in our highly partisan times. Bush started it. Obama accelerated it and approved some of the biggest attacks. The Israelis were likely key partners throughout. [[Cite](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/world/middleeast/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&pagewanted=all)]
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/25 "2019-09-10T19:33:47Z")
I just wish Trump’s cronies weren’t so meekly quiet when they get shitcanned. I don’t mean Cohen and Scaramucci – they already had credibility issues, so their outbursts just look like more attempts to stay relevant. I’m talking about the semi-respectable ones like John F. Kelly. They do their best to not show cracks in the GOP armor, even when Trump sasses them on their way out. They could go on the lecture circuit and explain how much of an idiot Trump is and get paid big bucks for it, but they decide to show \*integrity \*instead.
Trump would never acknowledge or show gratitude for integrity. He sees it as weakness.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/26 "2019-09-10T19:49:04Z")
As a CNN op-ed once put it, sooner or later Trump turns on _ **everybody** _ that is not immediate family. It’s actually nice to see since most of his appointees are assholes, and Bolton was a prime example. He’s a modern-day Dr. Strangelove. If Bolton had his way we’d already be in the middle of nuclear Armageddon.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/27 "2019-09-10T20:12:32Z")
My guess was that he wanted to divert attention from his weathermap fiasco and his “landing a military plane at an obscure airport so that it doesn’t close and hurt his resort” fiasco.
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### Author:  [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/28 "2019-09-10T20:21:17Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> Yes, I strongly opposed Bolton’s efforts to block Venezuela from being taking over by a dictator, protect democracy in Hong Kong, and treat the Taliban like partial instigators of 9/11.
>
> Good riddance!
Sage Rat, while I concur with those points, can you find examples in the last several administrations where those were no longer US policy points? Because I don’t think so.
That a man can continue some policies while having other stances that damage US credibility and status (and I wouldn’t mind some evidence (yes, even in the Pit) in the world is a given. Bolton just was worse (IMHO) than others.
Press on.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/29 "2019-09-10T20:28:20Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#):
>
> Sage Rat, while I concur with those points, can you find examples in the last several administrations where those were no longer US policy points? Because I don’t think so.
I’ll grant that it’s simply my read of the situation but I would say that it’s reasonable to assume that Trump’s positions on things are transactional.
I do agree that the RNC, the deep state (e.g. the State Department, CIA, etc.) hold pro-Democracy / anti-tyranny stances. John Bolton, while more aggressive on those points than others, is not strange among them.
But, eventually, Trump will find someone his own speed. So whether or not Bolton is the best advocate for legalism and democracy that we could ever hope for, if the President’s next option for the role is Stephen Miller, I’m pretty hard on Team Bolton.
I’d prefer Mattis or someone, but I’ll take what I can get.
If you want cites that Trump’s thinking is transactional, I feel safe in saying that it can provided, but that I’d want to know if you really question the idea, first.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/30 "2019-09-10T21:48:50Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> But, eventually, Trump will find someone his own speed.
Ainsley Earhardt, National Security Advisor. You heard it here first.
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### Author:  [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/31 "2019-09-10T22:39:50Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#):
>
> A co-worker just walked in and announced, “Trump finally did something right!”
>
> I guessed “shot himself in the head,” but that wasn’t it.
You’re being too kind. Should Trump shoot himself in the head it will happen in the course of his trying to shoot someone else and missing very, very badly. He won’t deserve credit for doing something right.
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/32 "2019-09-10T23:30:32Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#):
>
> And now comes the “disavowal” tweets.
>
> “Totally ill prepared and ill equipped John Bolton (I didn’t really know him) made up a story that he resigned. He is a liar and a terrible negotiator and I fired him like a dog. Sad!”
Hey, if you’re going to post stuff like that, you have to make it clearer that you were sarcastically inventing a Trump tweet. Because I kind of believed that tweet was real and had to check to verify that it wasn’t.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/33 "2019-09-10T23:51:33Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#):
>
> Ainsley Earhardt, National Security Advisor. You heard it here first.
[https://images.app.goo.gl/YapkWXKEC1EBWjYh8](https://images.app.goo.gl/YapkWXKEC1EBWjYh8)
Personality stands in well for many other attributes that a person might need in any career.
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/34 "2019-09-10T23:54:02Z")
I am thinking that Bolton was fired for scuttling Trump’s proposed talks with his new best friends the Taliban at Camp David, to take place on the anniversary of 9/11. This may have been a bridge too far for Bolton.
Although I admit it would have been absolutely \*fascinating \* to hear the Trumpistas try to say what a great thing it was for Trump to wine and dine Taliban leaders, and have a toast and a laugh right on the 9/11 anniversary.
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### Author:  [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/35 "2019-09-11T00:05:59Z")
I’m having a hard time deciding whom to believe in regards to the circumstances of this resignation (i.e., was he asked to resign or was it his decision). I mean, what do you do when you have two people of zero credibility disagreeing on how it went down?!?
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### Author:  [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/36 "2019-09-11T00:08:10Z")
While I may despise Bolton, I’ll take his word over Trumpster Fire any day. Hell, I’d believe O.J.'s version of events before I’d believe anything Trump says.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/37 "2019-09-11T00:48:41Z")
> [@jshore](#):
>
> I’m having a hard time deciding whom to believe in regards to the circumstances of this resignation (i.e., was he asked to resign or was it his decision). I mean, what do you do when you have two people of zero credibility disagreeing on how it went down?!?
They can decide [this way](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5647/propaganda-game).
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### Author:  [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/38 "2019-09-11T01:07:41Z")
> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> Trump probably thought he had hired Michael Bolton, and it took him this long to figure out who the guy with the walrus mustache was that kept showing up.
Not from [central casting](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/john-bolton-un-ambassador-file-gty-jef-180323_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg)
[Trump’s dislike for Bolton’s mustache is well known](https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/379916-officials-say-trump-was-hesitant-about-hiring-bolton-because-of-his)
> [@](#):
>
> Aides told The Washington Post in 2016 that Bolton’s facial hair was one of several reasons Trump didn’t pick him as his secretary of State. And The New York Times’s Maggie Haberman reported Thursday that Trump spent a significant amount of time deriding Bolton for the mustache.
Even his recent pruning to more [Hitlerian proportions](https://heavyeditorial.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/john-bolton-fired.jpg?quality=65&strip=all) failed…
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### Author:  [@poweroftheglory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poweroftheglory)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/39 "2019-09-11T01:48:53Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#):
>
> I’ll grant that it’s simply my read of the situation but I would say that it’s reasonable to assume that Trump’s positions on things are transactional.
>
> **I do agree that the RNC, the deep state (e.g. the State Department, CIA, etc.) hold pro-Democracy / anti-tyranny stances.** John Bolton, while more aggressive on those points than others, is not strange among them.
>
> But, eventually, Trump will find someone his own speed. So whether or not Bolton is the best advocate for legalism and democracy that we could ever hope for, if the President’s next option for the role is Stephen Miller, I’m pretty hard on Team Bolton.
>
> I’d prefer Mattis or someone, but I’ll take what I can get.
>
> If you want cites that Trump’s thinking is transactional, I feel safe in saying that it can provided, but that I’d want to know if you really question the idea, first.
When has this ever been the case or am I being gaslight here? This country has a nasty history of supporting/instigating coups that overthrew democratically elected governments.
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### Author:  [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-fired-via-tweet/839990/40 "2019-09-11T02:43:50Z")
> [@poweroftheglory](#):
>
> When has this ever been the case or am I being gaslight here? This country has a nasty history of supporting/instigating coups that overthrew democratically elected governments.
I won’t say that everything we’ve ever done was properly benign in intent. Some things may well have simply been, “The spice must flow.” (Or, in the case of Bush II and Iraq, “I gunna do what my daddy was too smart to do that they all voted him out of office for!”)
But, I do imagine that some amount of thought during the Cold War was that Communism was a greater evil than Democracy was a good.
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