The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board appeared incensed over his recent "vindictive whim" — revoking Secret Service protections to former officials who've publicly broken with him.
Trump this week stripped one-time national security adviser John Bolton of his security clearance and a Secret Service detail that guarded him, even though federal prosecutors have said Bolton was the target of an Iranian assassination plot.
Trump downplayed the potential threat against Bolton, telling reporters: "We’re not going to have security on people for the rest of their lives—why should we?”
He added that Bolton is “a very dumb person.”
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“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has made this decision,” Bolton previously told CNN. “Notwithstanding my criticisms of President Biden’s national-security policies, he nonetheless made the decision to once again extend Secret Service protection to me in 2021.”
On Thursday, reports emerged that Trump did the same to Mike Pompeo, his former secretary of state, and Brian Hook, a former top aide to Pompeo. Both have also faced Iranian threats.
The Journal's editorial board chided Trump on Thursday, writing: "The possibility of falling out of President Trump’s good graces is an occupational hazard for good people who serve in his Administration, but this looks like a new low."
The board warned Trump that if one of the men becomes the target of an attack, he "won’t be able to escape some responsibility."
"Decisions about security details are supposed to be made based on neutral assessments of the danger, not some vindictive whim," the Journal said.
The Journal has been publicly critical of Trump in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, the board trashed him over his recent releases of "meme coin" cryptocurrencies themed after him.
And earlier this month, the board warned that Trump’s ambitious demand that the United States regain control of the Panama Canal would be “a mess” for the country.