Trump suspected John Bolton of leaking story about his suggestion to use nukes on hurricanes: report

While they disagreed on holding peace talks with the Taliban, the president may also have lost trust in his adviser

Published September 11, 2019 12:09PM (EDT)

National Security Advisor John Bolton; President Donald Trump (Getty/Salon)
National Security Advisor John Bolton; President Donald Trump (Getty/Salon)

This article originally appeared on Raw Story
rawstory-logos(aug15)

President Donald Trump fired national security adviser John Bolton by tweet, largely over their disagreement on holding peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David, but the president also had lost trust in his adviser.

Bolton strongly disagreed with Trump’s desire to meet with Taliban leaders and his willingness to meet with Iran’s president, but three sources revealed that Trump was angry at Bolton for another reason, reported CBS News.

Those sources, who were directly involved, said Trump was driven to distraction by his belief that Bolton or those close to him had leaked a story about the president asking whether nuclear weapons could be used against hurricanes.

Axios reported last month that Trump had asked senior Homeland Security and national security officials multiple times to explore using nukes to stop hurricanes from hitting the U.S., and they stood behind their reporting after the president denied asking about it.

“I got it. I got it. Why don’t we nuke them?” Trump asked, according to one source who was present. “They start forming off the coast of Africa, as they’re moving across the Atlantic, we drop a bomb inside the eye of the hurricane and it disrupts it. Why can’t we do that?”

The White House official assured the president they would look into that, but sources said aides were astonished by Trump’s question.

A National Security Council memo from 2017 shows that Trump asked about bombing hurricanes.


By Travis Gettys

MORE FROM Travis Gettys