See how the two stories pair up, the first from yesterday and then today's.
Trump grew weary of Bolton’s push for military force against Venezuela
By Michael Wilner
September 11, 2019 04:36 PM
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump ousted John Bolton in part due to frustration with his third national security adviser’s guidance to pair military power with economic pressure against Venezuela, according to current and former administration officials.
One senior administration official said that Trump had grown weary of repeated vows from Bolton that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would be out of office in short order. A second official said that they had clashed over Bolton’s efforts to advance planning for military intervention.
That official pointed to the administration’s national security strategy, which predated Bolton’s tenure and called for “strong diplomatic engagement†to isolate rogue nations in the Western Hemisphere. “That has been and remains the policy,†the official told McClatchy, although officials across the administration insist that all options are on the table.
Read more here: https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article234982442.html#storylink=cpy
But today and you know what? I'm inclined to believe that Bolton, Rubio and maybe Graham all would have wanted military action. In a way, I'm kind of glad that did not happen.
But Rubio comes in and backs up the President in a tweet and the Venezuela situation seems to be very close to the heart of Rubio, it wouldn't make sense for him to lie about this. I guess, it's hard to imagine Bolton ever wanting to hold back in this department, so this remains a puzzle.
Trump: John Bolton ‘was holding me back!’ on Cuba, Venezuela
By Bob Fredericks
September 12, 2019 | 3:31pm | Updated September 12, 2019 | 4:07pm
President Trump on Thursday pushed back on the idea that former national security adviser John Bolton was too much of a hawk — asserting that it was Bolton who was constraining him.
“In fact, my views on Venezuela, and especially Cuba, were far stronger than those of John Bolton. He was holding me back!†the commander-in-chief tweeted.
Trump’s comment was posted along with a retweet of an earlier post by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a fierce critic of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.
“Just spoke to @realDonaldTrump on #Venezuela. It’s true he disagreed with some of the views of previous advisor. But as he reminded me it’s actually the DIRECT OPPOSITE of what many claim or assume. If in fact the direction of policy changes it won’t be to make it weaker,†Rubio had tweeted.
Read more at: https://nypost.com/2019/09/12/trump-john-bolton-was-holding-me-back-on-cuba-venezuela/
Marco Rubio
@marcorubio
Just spoke to @realDonaldTrump
on #Venezuela
It’s true he disagreed with some of the views of previous advisor
But as he reminded me it’s actually the DIRECT OPPOSITE of what many claim or assume
If in fact the direction of policy changes it won’t be to make it weaker
7:39 AM · Sep 12, 2019·Twitter for iPad
https://twitter.com/marcorubio/status/1172127718433054721
