Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired Army colonel and the chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell in President George W. Bush’s administration, places good odds on President Donald Trump choosing Douglas Macgregor, also a former Army colonel, for the national security advisor position recently held by John Bolton.

Wilkerson, in a new interview with host Aaron Maté at Push Back, puts the odds of Trump choosing Macgregor, who tends to recommend non-interventionist foreign policy actions much like those supported at times by Trump, at “50/50.” But, says Wilkerson, “if there is a personal interview, Trump talking to Doug and Doug to Trump, I’d raise that to 70/30, and I’d bet on it.”

Explaining his conclusion, Wilkerson states Macgregor is “very persuasive” and points to a speech Macgregor presented at an August 24 Ron Paul Institute conference near Washington, DC. Anyone who saw Macgregor’s speech at the conference, says Wilkerson, would understand why it looks like Macgregor would be a good replacement for Bolton.

You can watch that speech by Macgregor at the Ron Paul Institute conference here:

Watch Wilkerson’s complete interview here, in which Wilkerson also criticizes Bolton’s record as national security advisor:

Wilkerson is an Academic Board member for the Ron Paul Institute.

Reprinted with permission from the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.