Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he hopes national security adviser John Bolton was kept quiet during President Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore.
“John Bolton was at the table — I’m sure the president had that by design,” Fox News host Neil Cavuto said to Paul on Tuesday before asking him for his response.
“My hope is that he was at the children’s table and that he wasn’t influencing the discussion among adults,” Paul replied.
Paul, a libertarian dove, has been highly critical of White House aides and congressional colleagues who advocate for a more hawkish approach to North Korea.
On Monday, Paul lashed out at Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., for being a “danger to the country” after Graham urged that military force be used against the Hermit Kingdom if Trump was unable to reach an agreement with Kim about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Despite reports that Bolton persuaded Trump to call off the summit temporarily in May, he accompanied Trump to Singapore this week for the series of meetings.
North Korean officials previously targeted Bolton in complaints about the Trump administration’s approach to nuclear negotiations and he was noticeably absent from a high-stakes Oval Office meeting with North Korea’s vice chairman Kim Yong Chol.
Paul said Wednesday he was “very hopeful” Kim will adhere to the four-point joint declaration he and Trump signed in Singapore.
“If we actually get denuclearization, President Trump will have done something miraculous,” he said on Fox News.
[Related: Trump declares victory: ‘There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea’]
