Trump’s War Cabinet Is Taking Shape

Justin Lane/DPA via ZUMA

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A few days ago the White House said that H.R. McMaster still had the president’s full confidence. That’s a death sentence, of course, and today the axe fell. He’s out and John Bolton is in:

General McMaster will retire from the military, the officials said. He has been discussing his departure with President Trump for several weeks, they said, but decided to speed up his departure, in part because questions about his status were casting a shadow over his conversations with foreign officials.

….Mr. Bolton, who will take office April 9, has met regularly with Mr. Trump to discuss foreign policy, and was on a list of candidates for national security adviser. He was in the West Wing with Mr. Trump to discuss the job on Thursday.

Hell, even George Bush wasn’t crazy enough to let Bolton serve as his National Security Advisor. But Trump is. He wants someone who agrees that we should threaten every bad guy on earth with war, and Bolton’s that guy.

Back in 2016, rumor had it that Trump didn’t pick Bolton for a top job because he thought Bolton’s mustache looked stupid. For once, I applauded Trump’s idiocy. I’m dismayed that he managed to get over his contempt for dumb facial hair.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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