Former national security adviser John Bolton recently made a statement on CNN regarding former President Donald Trump. Bolton said that foreign leaders see him as a “laughing fool” who would have been killed by Russian President Vladimir Putin if he had been in the Oval Office in 2020. He denied Trump’s claim that he could have prevented Putin from invading Ukraine if re-elected. Bolton served as a diplomat under President Trump from April 2018 to September 2019.
During a town hall event, Trump made controversial allegations about Ukraine and claimed that Russia would not have invaded if he had been in office. He also said he could “settle” the dispute, which Bolton promptly rejected. The former national security adviser stated that foreign leaders actually have the opposite impression of Trump and do not hold him in high regard. Bolton explained that he was in the room with Trump and these leaders and had witnessed the lack of respect they had for him.
Bolton also discussed the potential outcome if Trump had won a second term. He stated that Trump’s push to undermine NATO would have helped Russia take over Ukraine. Bolton criticized the former president’s management and appearance on CBS News, where he called it a “huge political mistake” for Republicans to continue working with Trump into 2024.