Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Tuesday slammed President Donald Trump's new national security adviser, John Bolton, saying that she "can't think of a more dangerous appointment."
Albright, who served as the nation's top diplomat under President Bill Clinton, sat down with the female co-hosts of ABC's "The View" to discuss foreign policy during the Trump administration, specifically the ongoing conflict in Syria.
Megan McCain asked Albright what strategy she would suggest the Trump administration follow in Syria, calling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's violence against his own people "genocide."
Albright said the situation in Syria is "complicated" and a "proxy war" in the Middle East, but McCain was not satisfied with her answer, asking the former secretary to explain what she meant.
"Well, it means, for instance, that the Iranians and the Saudis—and it's a Shia-Sunni thing," Albright said. "Most Americans don't know very much about Islam, much less the difference between Shia and Sunni, so you've got that, plus the difference between the Arabs and the Persians ... Then there's the problem with the Turks who don't like the Kurds, and they are going into that area where the Kurds actually were helping the United States to get rid of ISIS. Those are just the major issues."
Albright also called Assad an "animal" for "killing his own people."
Later in the interview, co-host Joy Behar asked Albright how the Trump administration is going to implement an effective strategy in Syria with Bolton, who is known for advocating aggressive U.S. foreign policies, as the new national security adviser.
"I can't think of a more dangerous appointment, frankly," Albright said. "Partially, this is a person that has very hard-line views, that is somebody—and maybe he'll change his mind now that his job is, frankly, to be somebody that organizes a decision-making process, and I've been part of a decision-making process."
Bolton, who began his tenure as national security adviser this week, will be a critical member of Trump's national security team as they work toward a long-term solution in Syria.