Trump 'really doesn't believe in advisers' and sees them as 'an annoyance,' ex-aides and allies say

Trump and John Bolton
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

John Bolton and President Trump had many differences, but his acrimonious exit as national security adviser Tuesday seemed inevitable after he broke "the president's sometimes Kafkaesque management style — an unusual set of demands and expectations he sets for those in his direct employ," The Washington Post reports. Trump, for example, "tolerates a modicum of dissent, so long as it remains private; expects advisers to fall in line and defend his decisions; and demands absolute fealty at all times."

There's only one person who can survive in Trump's orbit, and it's Trump, former advisers tell the Post. "You're there more as an annoyance to him because he has to fill some of these jobs, but you're not there to do anything other than be backlighting," said former communications director Anthony Scaramucci. "There's one spotlight on the stage, it's shining on Trump, and you're a prop in the back with dim lights." A Republican in close touch with Trump agreed: "He really doesn't believe in advisers. ... John [Bolton] saw his role as advisory, but Trump thinks he's his own adviser, and I don't think people fully appreciate this."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.