President Donald Trump stared in silence on Thursday afternoon when CBS News reporter Paula Reid asked him why he keeps hiring “wackos” and “liars,” referencing the president’s own label for his former national security adviser John Bolton, who has provoked the president's wrath by writing a highly critical book on his time in the Trump administration.
“Mr. President, why do you keep hiring people that you believe are wackos and liars?” Reid shouted at the end of a White House roundtable, to no response from Trump. Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that “Wacko” Bolton’s book is “made up of lies & fake stories.” The president has repeatedly accused Bolton of being a “liar” in recent days as explosive excerpts from his book get reported on in the press.
Trump denouncing his former officials and aides as “liars” and “dopes” has become old hat for the president. Among those he’s smeared after the fact are former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, ex-Defense Secretary James Mattis, former Chief of Staff John Kelly and one-time Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
