‘New Low!’ WSJ Editorial Board Slams Trump For Stripping Security Protection For Bolton, Pompeo

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke Secret Service protection for several former aides as a “vindictive whim” that constituted a “new low” – arguing that the officials face documented threats from Iran.

Trump recently pulled security from his former national security adviser, John Bolton, who served in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019, despite federal prosecutors warning that Bolton remains a target of an Iranian assassination plot.

On Thursday, reports revealed that Trump also stripped security from former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, a top aide to Pompeo. Both men were reportedly informed their protection would end effective immediately.

In a scathing opinion piece published on Friday, the editorial board at the Wall Street Journal, a newspaper owned by ally mogul Rupert Murdoch, rebuked the move.

The possibility of falling out of President Trump’s good graces is an occupational hazard for good people who serve in his Administration, but this looks like a new low…

Decisions about security details are supposed to be made based on neutral assessments of the danger, not some vindictive whim.

The editorial board went on to warn that if any of the former officials are attacked, Trump “won’t be able to escape some responsibility.”

Speaking to a reporter about his decision on Thursday, Trump remarked: “When you have protection, you can’t have it for the rest of your life.”