Trump hints at naming Bolton as Secretary of State

Kevin WhitemanAugust 11, 2016

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Republican frontrunner Donald Trump just dropped quite the hint of naming John Bolton as the next Secretary of State. Of course, that’s if he’s elected.

While being interviewed on the Hugh Hewitt radio program, did admit that while no solid decision has been reached, he is strongly considering the former US ambassador to the United Nations.

“I think John Bolton’s a good man,” Trump replied. “I watched him yesterday, actually, and he was very good in defending me in some of my views, and very, very strong. And I’ve always liked John Bolton. Well, we are thinking about it, Hugh. I will say that. We are thinking about it. I mean, the negative is what I told you. But we are seriously thinking about it.”

Bolton has long been a conservative favorite, often appearing as a contributor of the Fox News Channel. Amb. Bolton is also a senior fellow at the hard right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.

While the name was never brought up by Trump, Hewitt also mentioned the name of James “Jim” Talent (R-MO). The former US Senator from the Show Me State is mentioned quite a bit as a strong possible choice as Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense.

A strong advocate of an American armed forces second to none, Talent’s congressional career was heavily involved in advocating for a strong military. During his freshman year in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993, Talent formed a special congressional panel to address the steady decline in the nation’s military readiness.

While serving in the House, Talent was also assigned as a member of the Armed Services Committee. When later elected to the Senate, Talent was then assigned to that chamber’s Armed Services Committee. He later went on to chair the Senate’s Sea Power Subcommittee for four years.