DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — President Donald Trump should reconsider his decision to terminate security details from three former senior national security officials.
That protection isn’t just for him, it’s for the public, said Sen. Tom Cotton, a Trump loyalist, who is nonetheless pushing back against the president’s targeting of people he calls his opponents. Cotton said a president needs to keep qualified people interested in serving in the White House, and that can sometimes require better security for officials.
Arkansas senator says he’ll encourage Trump to “reconsider decision for these people” – Former national security adviser John Boltonformer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian HookPompeo’s former senior policy adviser. All were involved in planning and discussing the deadly drone strike on the Iranian general. Qasim Soleimani In January 2020.
“The risk to everyone involved in President Trump’s strike on Qassem Soleimani is constant. That’s a fact,” Cotton said during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday.” “Iran is determined to take revenge against all these people.”
Trump last week revoked security protections for the three, despite the fact that they had faced threats from Iran for taking a tough stance against the Islamic Republic during the Trump administration.
Trump ended the security detail for his former national security adviser, John Bolton, ex Secretary of State Mike Pompeo And his one-time deputy, Brian Hook. The Biden administration had regularly increased security protections over credible threats to the lives of men. Cotton said he has seen recent intelligence that suggests all three former Trump officials have been targeted by Iran.
It’s another sign that Trump’s return to the White House is taking days. Target people they perceive as adversaries.
Bolton, who was fired during the president’s first term in 2019, later wrote a book that the Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to block publication on the grounds that it disclosed national security information.
Trump publicly said on Pompeo a few months ago that he would not play a role in his new administration. And last week, Trump fired Hook from his presidentially appointed position on the board of the Wilson Center, a national security think tank.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry, because this is not just about the men who helped President Trump carry out his policies in his first term,” Cotton said. “It’s about their family and friends, about innocent bystanders whenever they’re in public.”
Cotton also suggested that Trump’s decision to end his security protection could have a chilling effect on the president’s ability to hire the most qualified advisers in the future.
“It’s also about the president being able to get good people and get good advice,” Cotton said. “They may be reluctant to do so, or if they are in office they may be reluctant to give him the advice they need to implement the policies he decides.”
Asked about his decision last week, Trump told reporters, “Do you want to have a large detail of people protecting people for the rest of their lives? I mean, everything has risks.
