Trump Shreds Bolton as a 'Washed Up Guy' Who 'Never Had a Clue'
President Donald Trump on Thursday lambasted former National Security Advisor John Bolton over a book Bolton has written about his time in the Trump White House.
“When Wacko John Bolton went on Deface the Nation and so stupidly said that he looked at the ‘Libyan Model’ for North Korea, all hell broke out. Kim Jong Un, who we were getting along with very well, went ‘ballistic’, just like his missiles — and rightfully so,” Trump tweeted.
“He didn’t want Bolton anywhere near him. Bolton’s dumbest of all statements set us back very badly with North Korea, even now. I asked him, ‘what the hell were you thinking?’ He had no answer and just apologized. That was early on, I should have fired him right then & there!”
….He didn’t want Bolton anywhere near him. Bolton’s dumbest of all statements set us back very badly with North Korea, even now. I asked him, “what the hell were you thinking?” He had no answer and just apologized. That was early on, I should have fired him right then & there!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
Trump said the book, excerpts of which have been made public in news reports, paints a false picture of the White House.
Bolton’s book, which is getting terrible reviews, is a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad. Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction. Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
“Bolton’s book, which is getting terrible reviews, is a compilation of lies and made up stories, all intended to make me look bad. Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction. Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!” Trump tweeted.
The president said Bolton never was a good fit in his administration.
Wacko John Bolton’s “exceedingly tedious”(New York Times) book is made up of lies & fake stories. Said all good about me, in print, until the day I fired him. A disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracized & happily dumped. What a dope!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
“Wacko John Bolton’s ‘exceedingly tedious'(New York Times) book is made up of lies & fake stories. Said all good about me, in print, until the day I fired him. A disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracized & happily dumped. What a dope!” Trump tweeted
During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that aired Wednesday night, Trump lashed out at Bolton and the book.
“He broke the law,” Trump said.
Trump said he took a chance on Bolton, but regretted it.
“He was a washed up guy. I gave him a chance. He couldn’t get Senate confirmed so I gave him a non-Senate confirmed position where I could just put him there, see how he worked,” the president said.
“I wasn’t very enamored,” Trump said, noting Bolton’s support for the 2003 Iraq War. “He was one of the big guns for ‘Let’s go into Iraq’ and that didn’t work out too well and I was against that a long time ago.”
Trump said Bolton sought to print “highly classified information. And he did not have approval.”
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit to block the scheduled June 23 release of the book, claiming that it contains classified information and that Bolton did not complete a required pre-publication review process, according to The Hill.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany touched on Bolton’s book Wednesday during a media briefing,.
“What I would note is this book is full of classified information, which is inexcusable,” she said, according to a White House media pool report. “Former National Security Advisor John Bolton should know all too well that it’s unacceptable to have highly classified information from the government of the United States in a book that will be published. It’s unacceptable. It has not gone through the review process, and that’s where we currently stand.”
Also Wednesday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said it was “kind of remarkable to have a book be published while people are still in office,” according to a White House media pool report.
Conway also tweaked the media over the Bolton book.
“It is actually precious and adorable, how pro-John Bolton you all are now. It’s really cute,” she said.
Conway said a review of the book is essential for the nation.
“I would just think that it’s very important to the nation’s security, not even the president himself, but for the presidency itself and the nation’s security to make sure the review processes have been completed,” she said.
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