Scarborough on Bolton appointment: Ideology continues to trump conservative ideas

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough said President Trump’s appointment of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton is just another instance of ideology taking priority over conservative ideals in a Friday op-ed in The Washington Post. 

The former Republican congressman quoted Russel Kirk, a foundational philosopher of the modern conservative movement, in saying that “‘the conservative abhors all forms of ideology,'” adding that “six decades of Republican overreach” have led to the point of U.S. national security falling in the hands of Trump and Bolton. 

Bolton, known as a national security hawk who’s to the right of outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster, has praised the U.S. military invasion and continued involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan and has suggested a preemptive strike against North Korea. He will take over the job on April 9. 

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Bolton’s appointment is a “fitting coda for a movement whose adherents spent decades throwing themselves on an endless array of ideological barricades,” Scarborough wrote, adding that the move “will not disappoint these same GOP militants whom Kirk battled until his death in 1994.” 

The administration’s latest hires are “the predictable outcome of my Republican party aligning its interests with the most cynical political operators of our time,” the former Republican congressman said, citing the GOP’s embrace of a wealthy donor class and partisan attacks in a contentious media environment. 

Trump’s latest appointment comes after months of turmoil in the administration, as Trump has ousted multiple top officials, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Bolton — Trump’s third national security adviser — may take a markedly different approach to key issues, such as the Iran nuclear deal supported by both Tillerson and McMaster.