I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection previously provided by the United States Secret Service. Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to extend…
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) January 21, 2025
Bolton is known for his hawkish line towards Iran, and has been permanently secured by the Secret Service since 2021. In 2022, an Iranian national was accused of plotting to assassinate Bolton, and the US government offered $20 million for information about him.
After being appointed Trump’s national security adviser in 2018, and serving in the position for about a year and a half, Bolton fell out with Trump and became his fierce critic. Bolton said Trump was “unfit to be president” and accused him of seeking to please China and Russia. In an interview with N12 earlier this month, Bolton said that “Trump does not have a philosophy or plan for national security. What drives every decision is the question – what is good for Donald Trump. This is the dominant and sometimes the only factor.”
On the other hand, Trump called Bolton a “stupid man”, and previously said he was a “war monger”. The president justified the decision to remove the security and said: “I think there has been enough time. There is not going to be security over people for the rest of their lives.”