On March 23, United States President Donald Trump announced in a tweet that he was removing H.R. McMaster as his national security advisor, and that John Bolton would take over on 9 April, 2018.

Despite a heavily partisan caucus, all sides agree that Bolton's rise indicates more unilateral US action.

Former Australian Ambassador to the US, Kim Beazley, spoke with Flavia Zimmermann from the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Western Australia about John Bolton, Trump politics in the Indo-Pacific, and its implications for Australia.