CNN Host Stunned by John Bolton’s Trump Revelation—’Wow’

CNN host Kaitlan Collins was shocked by a revelation from John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, while interviewing him.

Bolton, who alongside Mike Pompeo recently had his security detail removed by Trump, told Collins that someone who currently works for Trump disagrees with his decision to cut their security, resulting in Collins saying, “Wow.”

The White House has been contacted via email for comment.

Why It Matters

Following his White House tenure, Bolton became an outspoken critic of Trump.

Pompeo served in the first Trump administration for all four years but was told he would not have a position in Trump’s second term.

Although the President has surrounded himself with more people who are loyal to him and the MAGA movement for his second term, this revelation from Bolton shows that there are still some people working within Trump’s political operation who are open to criticizing the President’s decisions—albeit not publicly, as Bolton said he cannot reveal their names.

What To Know

Speaking with Collins on CNN, Bolton also said there are “lots of people” in the Republican Party and/or who worked in Trump’s first administration who disagree with this move from the President.

This is not the first time that Trump has removed Bolton’s security detail. He first had it removed in 2019 after firing Bolton from the White House.

President Biden then reinstated his security in 2021 as Bolton, a national security hawk who was particularly focused on countering Iranian nuclear power, was still receiving death threats from Iran, including a well-documented assassination attempt by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

It has now been removed again, which Bolton said he is “disappointed” by.

Pompeo, Trump’s former secretary of state, was also subject to threats from Iran and was covered by a security detail throughout the Biden administration, despite being a known detractor of Biden’s presidency.

Joe Biden still covered Pompeo’s security detail, even though Pompeo initially refused to accept that Biden had won the 2020 election and was an outspoken critic of the former president’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Previous reporting from Newsweek revealed that security details have also been removed from Pompeo’s former top aide, Brian Hook.

Hook was fired by Trump from his presidentially appointed position on the Wilson Center board, with Trump saying he did not align with “our vision to Make America Great Again.”

What People Are Saying

Pompeo on the removal of his security: “I think it’s a reflection of Trump’s character, or lack thereof; it’s just very straightforward.”

Trump at a press conference on Tuesday: “Because I think that was enough time. You take a job, you want to do a job, we’re not going to have people with security for the rest of their lives. Why should we? … You can’t have that for life. You shouldn’t expect it for life.”

What Happens Next

In his interview with CNN, Pompeo pointed to early fractures within the GOP and the Trump political operation. Whether these continue to grow remains to be seen as it is only the fifth day of this administration.

In terms of personal safety, Pompeo and Bolton were subject to very serious death threats from Iran in 2022, and without their security detail are at risk again.

One former intelligence official told CNN they believe “someone is going to get killed” as a result of this security removal.