John Bolton on Donald Trump after Mike Waltz exit: Chaos 'embedded in his DNA’

Jun 13, 2025

Former national security adviser John Bolton said chaos is “embedded” in President Trump’s DNA after national security adviser Mike Waltz was dismissed from his position.

Bolton wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal published Thursday, just hours after it was revealed Waltz would no longer be national security adviser and would now be Trump’s pick for United Nations ambassador.

Bolton, who served in the first Trump administration and has since become a critic of the president, highlighted the staffing changes amid fallout from the Signal group chat scandal and Secretary of State Marco Rubio doing “double duty” as interim national security adviser in Waltz’s absence.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. Not in my experience have emojis been deployed as they were during the inexplicable group chat on Signal,” Bolton wrote. “For Mr. Trump, however, chaos is embedded in his DNA and endemic in his team.”

Waltz’s ouster has triggered a chaotic shake-up, as he is the first highly ranked administration official to be changing positions.

Bolton criticized Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff over his lack of expertise handling the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran and state-to-state negotiations. He earlier told NBC News that Waltz’s confirmation process for the U.N. ambassador position will be “dominated” by the Signal scandal.

He also highlighted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s handling of a more recent Signal group chat, and Trump’s impactful tariffs on countries around the world.

With the administration’s international and defense leadership in disarray, Bolton argued foreign government and domestic interest groups may take advantage of America.

Bolton pointed the blame not at the Trump administration advisers, but at the president himself for the confusion. He criticized Trump for “ad hoc” decisionmaking, pointing to his negotiating with Iran over its nuclear weapons and firing of top national security officials.

“Presidents who don’t use the National Security Council mechanism undercut their planning capabilities, managerial control and decision follow-through,” Bolton wrote.

“There’s no good solution given Mr. Trump’s character,” he concluded. “Nonetheless, his advisers should improve the decision-making process, if not for his benefit, at least for America’s.”

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