Bolton calls Trump 'Dangerous', says Biden would, at best, be 'four more years of Obama'
LOS ANGELES - "I think he’s dangerous."
That’s how Ambassador John Bolton described President Donald Trump during an exclusive interview with FOX 11’s Elex Michaelson for The Issue Is.
Bolton, who served for 17 months as Trump’s National Security Advisor, is currently making the press rounds as he promotes his tell-all book, "The Room Where it Happened."
“If possible, he’s even more uninhibited in his behavior [than people think],” Bolton said of the President, adding that part of the difficulty was "keeping him on track to achieve objectives that he says he wants to achieve."
Beyond President Trump, his book also pulls the curtain back on his interactions with other members of the administration, as well as leaders around the globe.
Michaelson pressed Bolton for his thoughts on many of those figures.
"I hold high regard for him," Bolton said of Vice President Mike Pence.
Other figures did not receive such high praise. On Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Bolton said he was "very disappointed in his performance".
Similarly, Bolton claimed Nikki Haley, who like Bolton, served as UN Ambassador, was in "over her head".
Bolton was slightly more complimentary of former Secretary of Defense Jim 'Mad Dog' Mattis, admitting that the two had a lot of disagreements, but that Mattis "was a patriot".
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What about Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, and close advisor? Kushner, Bolton said, was the "second most powerful man in the White House." When asked by Michaelson if that was a good thing, Bolton said, "no."
From White House staffers, the conversation turned to former White House occupants. On former President George W. Bush, under whom Bolton served as UN Ambassador (05-06) and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs (01-05), Bolton said “I think he looks mighty good in retrospect.”
Bolton held the tenure of former President Barack Obama in lower regard.
"He led to the situation, really, where Trump was possible," Bolton said. "One of the reasons I did support Trump in 2016 was I felt the American position in the world had been eroded considerably under Obama."
Given his experience in the Trump administration, Bolton has said he will not be voting for President Trump come November and instead writing in another Conservative Republican as he can also not bring himself to vote for Joe Biden.
Should Biden win in November though, Bolton said the former Vice President will "be four more years of Obama, at best."
It wasn’t only domestic players that Bolton opined over, but also some of the world’s most prominent autocrats, calling North Korea’s Kim Jong Un a characteristic strong-man, China’s Xi Jinping somebody thoroughly in command of his brief, and Russia’s Vladimir Putin very knowledgeable and very tough.
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