Trump trashes John Bolton after ouster: 'He got us into Iraq'

John Bolton.
(Image credit: Patrick Semansky/AP)

After announcing he fired former National Security Adviser John Bolton because they "disagreed strongly," President Trump is twisting the knife even further.

Trump in the Oval Office Wednesday trashed Bolton following his White House departure, saying he "made some very big mistakes" on the job, including saying in April 2018 the U.S. was looking at the Libya model for North Korea. This statement made about a year-and-a-half ago "was not a good statement to make" and "set us back," Trump said.

Trump went on to get in another dig at Bolton by saying, "John's known as a tough guy. He's so tough, he got us into Iraq. That's tough."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Despite all this, Trump then claimed he "actually had a very good relationship" with Bolton, and it's just that he "wasn't getting along with" other people in the administration.

"I'm sure he'll do whatever he can do to spin it his way," Trump said of Bolton, who has been publicly disputing the president's account of his departure and insisting he resigned on his own and wasn't forced out.

"I hope we've left in good stead," Trump added, "but maybe we haven't." Brendan Morrow

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.