Hawkish national security adviser John Bolton was absent from President Trump’s team during his meeting with Kim Jong-un. However, non-interventionist Fox News host Tucker Carlson was present. Twitter put the pieces together.
As Trump’s most trusted adviser on all things geopolitical, one would expect John Bolton to have the president’s ear before, during, and after his historic foray across the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea and subsequent meeting with Kim Jong-un. However, Bolton was nowhere to be seen during Sunday’s impromptu summit, and was instead dispatched to Mongolia to talk security with Mongolian State Secretary Davaasuren Damdinsuren.

John Bolton
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@AmbJohnBolton
Delighted to be in Ulaanbaatar & looking forward to meeting with officials to find ways to harness Mongolia’s capabilities in support of our shared economic & security objectives. Thank you for the warm welcome Secretary of State @davaasuren_d

Notably present in Trump’s entourage, however, was Fox News host Tucker Carlson, an outspoken anti-interventionist and tireless critic of Bolton’s trigger-happy neoconservatism.

Though Bolton’s trip had apparently been scheduled before the meeting was cobbled together, Twitter was rife with speculation. “Hopefully Bolton’s banishing to Mongolia means that the chi is ready to flow again between Washington and Pyongyang,” wrote Korean peace activist Christine Ahn.

Christine Ahn
@christineahn
The inter-Korean peace process has stalled because of the breakdown in US-DPRK talks. Hopefully Bolton’s banishing to Mongolia means that the chi is ready to flow again between Washington and Pyongyang. https://twitter.com/willripleycnn/status/1145428684364369920 …

Will Ripley
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@willripleyCNN
South Koreans are cautiously optimistic about President Trump's historic day of impromptu diplomacy at the DMZ. They've seen this all before. Last year, their own President Moon made a historic walk across the MDL into North Korea, only to see diplomacy stall and tensions rise.

Hayes Brown
✔
@HayesBrown
I thought that was a metaphor when I first saw this tweet but nope John Bolton was literally in Mongolia https://twitter.com/lindseyhilsum/status/1145376951072370688 …

Lindsey Hilsum
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@lindseyhilsum
Banished to Mongolia? How ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ had to sidestep John Bolton to get his meeting with Kim Jong Un.

Bolton’s presence would likely have soured the amicable mood in Korea. Pyongyang has described the natsec adviser as “dim sighted,” “human scum” and a “bloodsucker.” Bolton has also been accused of torpedoing this year’s Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim, by suggesting beforehand that Korean denuclearization could follow the “Libya model” - a model that saw Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi overthrown and murdered seven years after agreeing to denuclearize.

Rumors of Bolton’s impending sacking from the Trump administration began to circulate.

Derek J. Grossman
@DerekJGrossman
My read on this is Bolton will be out soon, Pompeo in as NSA and SecState—in true Kissingerian fashion. Bolton was literally removed from Trump’s Koreas visit & sent to Mongolia where he would do far less damage. https://twitter.com/ambjohnbolton/status/1145288948291440642 …

These speculations are not new, however, and the DC rumor mill has been buzzing with half-stories of Bolton’s looming departure for several weeks now. Former CIA agent and whistleblower John Kiriakou told RT two weeks ago that Bolton’s head is on the chopping block, as Trump apparently tires of his lobbying for war with Iran. However, Kiriakou noted that his leaving is “definitely not a done deal,” and still the stuff of gossip.

Kelly Magsamen
@kellymagsamen
I love Mongolia. I'm sorry that it had to receive John Bolton.

Despite the caveat, recent public statements by Trump lend credence to the rumors. “John Bolton is absolutely a hawk,” the president told reporters last week. “If it was up to him he'd take on the whole world at one time, okay?”

With military confrontation with Iran and Venezuela on the cards last month, Trump described himself as “the one who tempers him [Bolton], which is okay.” Days beforehand, Trump had expressed frustration that Bolton was trying to get him “into a war,” according to the Washington Post’s sources, at least.

Paul Carroll
@carrollpm
How many times can Trump call John Bolton “Mike” Bolton before he quits ?

And where does Tucker Carlson fit into all of this? The Fox Host interviewed Trump at the DMZ on Sunday, with the interview due to be broadcast on Monday. While grooming the Fox host to replace Bolton might be a bit of a reach, Carlson reportedly has Trump’s ear on key issues of national security, and according to one report has been privately advising the president not to go to war with Iran.

Published Date:2019-07-01