This is the darkest imaginable timeline.
National security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is leaving the Trump administration, the president announced via tweet on Thursday evening.
"I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend," Trump tweeted. He added that former Ambassador John "Mustachioed" Bolton will replace McMaster in a change scheduled for April 9.
Bolton is a Fox News analyst. He's keeping the mustache. This is real life.
I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 16, 2018
General H.R. McMaster National Security advisor is retiring. Fox News John Bolton will be his successor Gen. McMaster Statement "After 34 years of service to our nation, I am requesting retirement from the U.S. Army effective this summer after which I will leave public service"
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) March 22, 2018
The White House has denied for weeks that McMaster was on his way out. After we reported in late February that his departure would happen soon, I was told by White House officials that it was an unsubstantiated rumor, a disgrace to reporting, etc, etc. Yet here we are.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 22, 2018
John Bolton is among the most hawkish of neoconservative hawks. He was part of the Bush-Cheney crew that claimed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. He's also as a leading hawkish voice on North Korea. Controversial even in Republican circles. https://t.co/QRFvfrZtFN
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) March 22, 2018
Some notes on Bolton, who I've known through my reporting for years. For one, he flirted with WH bids in both 2011 and ahead of 2016. How times change: he used to gripe about the injection of celebrity in politics…
— Robert Costa (@costareports) March 22, 2018
Our next National Security Adviser pic.twitter.com/CtO06vKS5C
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) March 22, 2018
BREAKING: Trump National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is out pic.twitter.com/C7dMAw2CCr
— TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) March 22, 2018
Leadership of State Department, CIA, NSA & National Security Council now all in flux at once. https://t.co/GfEXzHjzuR
— Mary Louise Kelly (@NPRKelly) March 22, 2018
Former Bush official says John Bolton was 'by far the most dangerous man we had in the entire eight years' https://t.co/oOBzcrcT5V pic.twitter.com/hJdrsBL74T
— Business Insider (@businessinsider) March 22, 2018
John Bolton, who will take office April 9, has met regularly with Trump to discuss foreign policy, and was on a list of candidates for national security adviser https://t.co/m4u9T0daCr
— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 22, 2018
