Once again, Donald Trump has done the impossible. He has managed to make John Bolton a sympathetic figure. Bolton, who served as the President’s National Security Advisor during his first term, did not share Trump’s views on foreign policy. Bolton is hawkish, and Trump has problems with that approach to foreign affairs. Indeed, Bolton has never seen a military solution that he disapproved of.

Bolton has a long record of militancy, which he has often and loudly expressed. The actions that led to Trump having his house in Bethesda, Maryland, inspected were his sharp criticism of the Anchorage Summit between Vladimir Putin and Trump. Bolton dubbed the meeting “a victory” for the Russian leader simply because it occurred. Ostensibly, the FBI believed Bolton had documents that he needed for his memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” which was sharply critical of Trump.

The President may be justified in being miffed, and he certainly has reason to be suspicious of the hawkish Bolton. However, it appears to be overkill, as no one particularly respects or even likes the former NSC chairman, and it exposes a weakness that Trump shares with Richard Nixon: a hypersensitivity to criticism. As Nixon later admitted, he gave his opponents “a sword and they stuck it in and twisted it with relish.” Trump may do with Bolton, as Nixon did with Daniel Ellsberg, the author of the Pentagon Papers, making a former advisor a victim.

Indeed, Trump may have further damaged the reputation of Kash Patel, his FBI Chief; he could end up as L. Patrick Gray, who was discredited early in his tenure after Nixon appointed him after the death of J. Edgar Hoover.

The high-handedness makes Trump look like a leader who not only wants to drain the swamp, but create another one in its place. Whether or not Bolton is correct in his assessment of Russia, which is doubtful, is irrelevant. The reaction was more than it merited.

The little things that seem insignificant can damage a government more than the actions of the state. Watergate proved a term-ender for Nixon because of a cover-up that got out of control.

Trump enjoys a greater advantage in such a fight because he has a favorable Congress and a friendly Supreme Court. Still, he could also awaken a sleeping giant – the American foreign policy establishment. They do not like being toyed with, and they have long memories.

Trump certainly has reason to be suspicious of the “deep state,” but he should not so easily ignore its supporters. They have supporters within the GOP who desperately want a full-blown war with Russia. Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham, Lisa Murkowski, and most other Southern Republican Senators act as agents for Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Congress.

No doubt the Democrats will eagerly line up in support. Trump would be well counseled to ignore political gnats like Bolton and concentrate on trying to forge a lasting peace in Ukraine and Russia. Continuing a retribution campaign is unnecessary and politically dangerous.