President Donald Trump announced Senior National Security Advisor John Bolton's immediate departure from the Trump administration in a tweet on Tuesday morning. While Trump thanked Bolton for his service, he noted that he "disagreed strongly with many of [Bolton's] suggestions."
Thought by many to be a warmonger, Bolton championed a "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran, meaning he endorsed sanctions and threats against the country to pressure it into submission. The maximum pressure strategy hasn't worked. Like at all.
Nevertheless, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) posted a worried tweet following Bolton's departure and apparently endorsing the far-Right conspiracy theory that the government is filled with "deep state forces" hell-bent on weakening the United States and Donald Trump.
The Deep State conspiracy theory is pushed by far-Right fanatics like Alex Jones and QAnon followers.
Last year, the Trump administration pulled out of an Obama-era agreement with Iran that greatly reduced the nation's nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanction relief, which Trump described as weak. Since the United States' withdrawal from the deal, Iran has shown greater aggression.
Ted Cruz's endorsement of this failing approach wasn't exactly surprising, but that he'd invoke the smoke and mirrors of an imaginary deep state specter? That's a tad concerning.
Concerning...but also laughable.
Way to go, Ted.
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