President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is wasting no time building his next administration.
The former president announced Thursday that he had chosen Susan Summerall Wiles, a well-respected member of the Republican Party, as White House chief of staff in January, a decision that was praised by many in the Republican Party.
But according to former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, the Trump administration is poised to be just as “chaotic” as the first time, despite the choice of Wiles – nicknamed the “maiden of ice cream” – to lead his team.
Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday, Bolton reacted to the news that Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the week was joined by billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk , who supported Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
“You know, my first reaction when I heard that was, ‘Well, so what… what’s unusual about the vice president-elect sitting down with the president? elected during a call?” Bolton said during an appearance on The Source with Kaitlan Collins. “And then I realized, of course, Elon Musk was not the vice president-elect.”
“I think that’s really typical of Trump,” Bolton continued. “This happened during the transition to his first term in 2016-17. Limits and standards are not Trump’s strength, as we know. I wouldn’t get too hyperthyroid too quickly, but it doesn’t is certainly not a sign that order and stability has suddenly appeared at Mar-a-Lago.
“Despite what everyone says about these early nominations, to me it looks like the same chaotic ‘do what you want to do’ Donald Trump, with his latest shiny, shiny object, Elon Musk.”
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News week contacted Trump’s team by email for comment Friday evening.
Musk has been touted as a potential pick for Trump’s cabinet. While on the campaign trail, the former president said he was willing to let Musk lead cost-cutting measures within his administration. Musk boosted Trump’s campaign in several key states through his political action committee, America PAC, which funneled millions of dollars into political ads and other measures aimed at supporting the former president.
According to multiple media outlets, Musk participated in Trump’s call with Zelensky on Wednesday, during which the Ukrainian leader congratulated Trump on his victory in Tuesday’s election. Sources who spoke with The Washington Post said Zelensky reportedly spoke about the value of Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.
Bolton served as Trump’s national security adviser for 17 months, until he resigned from the post in September 2019. Trump claims to have fired Bolton, who has served in every Republican presidential administration since Ronald Reagan.
Bolton has been incredibly critical of his former boss, notably telling CNN in September that Trump was not an “acceptable” presidential candidate for Republicans.
“I think people shouldn’t go into politics for the jobs they want,” Bolton added. “They’re in it for philosophy, and Donald Trump doesn’t have one.”
On Friday, Collins asked Bolton if he had any suggestions for Trump’s future national security adviser, to which he replied that “the first thing is to remember that the national security adviser should really do everything what he can to submit information to the President.” it helps in making decisions.
“If the president doesn’t follow your advice, then that’s part of the job,” Bolton added. “You are the national security advisor, not the national security decision maker.”
“But certainly your job is not to just say ‘yes, sir,'” he added. “When the president says something, you have to do what you can … to make sure that all information is available and all feasible options are presented.”
“And if you don’t do that, just saying ‘yes, sir’ every time the president speaks, you’re not serving the president, you’re not serving the country.”
