For the United States, Donald Trump’s approach to governing the state is a threat, former adviser to US national security leader John Bolton said in an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
“The president does not have any kind of ideological support or strategy,” he explained. - He does not know the difference between the national interests of the United States and the interests of Donald Trump. There is no clarity as to where national interests are and where are his personal interests, and this is very dangerous for our country. ”
Bolton also noted that Trump did not seek to increase his level of competence when he became president of the United States.
“Upon taking office, he knew very little about the structure of public administration and was not interested in studying it,” he said. “Over the past hundred years, there has not been a single president who has followed this approach.”
In addition, Bolton explained why he was disappointed in the current head of the White House.
“In 2016, choosing between Trump and Hillary Clinton, I preferred Trump. Now, having closely examined what this president is, I cannot vote the same. I am concerned about the fate of our country, and it does not personify the Republican case, which I want to support, ”the politician explained.
At the same time, The Daily Telegraph claims that the ex-adviser announced the support of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, but does not cite a supporting quote.
However, in an interview with ABC News, which was released a little later, Bolton denied this information.
“Of course, I will not vote for Joe Biden either. I’ll think about which of the Republican conservatives to write on the ballot. But that brings us back to what prompted me to write a book, ”he said.
As Bolton himself notes, his book, The Room in which Everything Happened: Memoirs from the White House, is published at the height of the election race by chance.
“It would be even better to tell this story now, because the American people will be able to look at it in the context of the most important political decision that we as a nation make every four years,” he said.
- Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton
- © Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
The ex-adviser to Trump also described the personal qualities of the current head of the White House and the features of his work.
“The president’s thinking process is a random walk that never stops. It's like a random walk, plus Groundhog Day, ”Bolton said.
At the same time, he compared the approaches to the work of Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin is preparing for the meetings in great detail. He knows who he is talking to. He thinks over what he wants to say. He thinks over what he wants to achieve, he said. “I suppose Donald Trump is simply not familiar with this level of training, thoroughness, and preliminary planning.”
In contrast to the argument that Trump confuses personal interests with national interests, Bolton also cited the activities of Vladimir Putin as an example.
“I think Putin has a very clear idea of what Russia's national interests are and how to follow those interests,” said a former adviser to the US president.
The fate of memoirs
Recall, John Bolton was removed from the post of adviser to the President of the United States on national security in September 2019. Trump explained this measure by the fact that he does not agree with Bolton's initiatives in the field of international relations. According to the head of the White House, the ex-adviser "made very big mistakes."
“He did not find a common language with the people in the administration, whom I consider very important,” Trump said then.
A month after Bolton’s dismissal, information appeared in the American media that he was planning to write a book about his work in the White House. It was assumed that the memoirs will analyze not only the personal qualities of the American leader, but also his political course.
At the end of January 2020, The New York Times reported that according to the ex-adviser’s manuscript, the president allegedly told him that Washington would not transfer military assistance to Kiev until the Ukrainian authorities launched an investigation into the corruption of former US vice president Joe Biden and his son.
It was the freezing of military aid, as well as the subsequent discussion of this issue with Vladimir Zelensky, that led to the beginning of the impeachment procedure for Trump by the House of Representatives of the American Congress.
According to Simon & Schuster, the publisher of Bolton’s memoirs, his book contains the statement that the main mistake of the Democrats in the process of impeachment was excessive attention to the episode with Ukraine, while other abuses of the presidential power were ignored. According to the former adviser, such situations supposedly regularly occurred in foreign policy areas.
Last week, the US Department of Justice sued Bolton to prevent the release of his memoirs. The lawsuit states that the book violates non-disclosure agreements signed by the ex-adviser and poses a threat to the national security of the United States because it contains classified information.
As explained by the head of the US Department of Justice, William Barr, senior officials of the presidential administration sign documents according to which they undertake to submit their memoirs for verification, which Bolton refused.
- White House
- © Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Donald trump a few days before the lawsuit filed a lawsuit by the Justice Department that the publication of memoirs could lead to criminal prosecution of the former adviser on national security.
“I consider any conversations with me as with the president a state secret. So, if he wrote a book and this book is published, then he will break the law and, presumably, he will have problems of a criminal nature. I think so, "the Washington Post quotes the American president.
Trump later wrote on his Twitter page that Bolton combined lies and fictional stories in his book to expose the head of the White House in an unattractive light. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in turn, called former adviser to Trump a traitor.
After a federal court in the Metropolitan District of Columbia dismissed a lawsuit from the US Department of Justice banning the publication of Bolton’s memoirs, Trump said the book contained “massive amounts of classified information.”
In addition, the White House press service emphasized that they would seek to deprive the ex-adviser of profits from the sale of memoirs.
Following the fact that Bolton gave journalists another portion of his discourse about the president, Trump called his former adviser “liar” and “monstrously incompetent.”
“To John Bolton, whom the Senate would not approve, because he was not loved and considered crazy, I gave a chance. I like to hear different points of view. It turned out that he was terribly incompetent, and even a liar. See the judge’s conclusion. The information is secret !!! ”, the American leader wrote on his Twitter page on June 22.
I gave John Bolton, who was incapable of being Senate confirmed because he was considered a wacko, and was not liked, a chance. I always like hearing differing points of view. He turned out to be grossly incompetent, and a liar. See judge's opinion. CLASSIFIED INFORMATION !!!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2020Bolton, in turn, rejects such allegations and calls the behavior of the White House an attempt to drown out criticism of Trump.
It is worth noting that the release of Bolton's book was repeatedly postponed - initially the publication was planned in March, but was postponed first to May, and then to June 23.
“Will not worsen the election position”
Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies at the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that Trump’s former adviser “somehow ensures that the head of the White House is not re-elected.”
“But that automatically means Biden’s victory, which is a Democrat, not a Republican,” the expert said in a conversation with RT.
According to Batiuk, such a behavior of Bolton is “one of the catalysts for a serious political and ideological crisis in the ruling circles” of the United States.
- New York, June 20, 2020
- Reuters
- © Caitlin Ochs
“This is evidence of a deep split in the American elites, which cannot but affect individual representatives of the political elite. Who is John Bolton? This is the so-called neoconservative, moreover, it is a mule of American neoconservatism. He is one of those whom other neoconservatives are equal to, ”the expert said.
As explained in a conversation with RT, director of the US Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the USA at Moscow State University, Yuri Rogulev, Bolton’s desire to publish a book right now is “dictated by his selfish considerations.”
“He wants to get more money. After all, it is before the elections that memoirs are of great interest. And when they pass, the book will cease to be so relevant and the former adviser will not be able to get the maximum profit, ”the expert explained.
Another reason why Bolton makes statements exposing the head of the White House in a negative way is "a desire to annoy him," Rogulev said.
“Bolton was fired, he is offended. And these memoirs are called upon to whitewash him, and to criticize Trump. But Bolton's vision is not the ultimate truth. His latest impartial statements and scandalous remarks about the American leader are designed to fuel interest in the book, ”the analyst said.
At the same time, Batiuk doubts that the Trump administration will be able to bring Bolton to serious responsibility for the publication of memoirs.
“He doesn’t quote documents, but quotes people’s statements, conveys in general terms internal conversations,” the expert noted.
According to Batiuk, Bolton’s anti-Trump campaign can turn into him only in a ruined relationship with colleagues in the Republican Party.
“Some of them will treat Bolton as a traitor,” the analyst said.
At the same time, Batyuk predicts that the memoirs of the former adviser “will not worsen the election position” of the head of the White House.
“I don’t think that Bolton’s book could seriously harm Trump or negatively affect the electoral prospects of the current head of the White House. But for Trump, this is a rather unpleasant, annoying factor, given that Bolton probably knows not very pleasant details of his service in the White House. And this, of course, in the midst of the election campaign, is the last thing the current president needs, ”the expert concluded.