The first time John Bolton heard Africa come up in a conversation with Donald Trump, the subject wasn’t on the official agenda. Then again, Africa was never high on Trump’s mind during Bolton’s time in the White House.

A few days into his 453-day stint as Trump’s national security adviser, Bolton joined Trump on a call with US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to discuss Haley’s upcoming address to the UN Security Council. Bolton wanted to talk about Syria, then finding new depths to its crisis, but Trump kicked off with a question unrelated to either Syria or the UN. Why had Rex Tillerson approved a half-billion dollars in aid to Africa before leaving the post of secretary of state?

The money had probably been approved by Congress, Bolton says. In that event, Tillerson’s approval would have been mere formality, but he promises to check just in case. Trump moves on. A few minutes of ranting later, they finally get to the Middle East.