Donald Trump’s view that he enjoys tractable relations with foreign leaders, especially adversaries like Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, is wide of the mark, argued Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton.
In a CNN interview Tuesday, Bolton, who is considering a presidential bid of his own, was asked to weigh in on the state of Russia’s invasion as well as Trump’s claims in a town hall last week that he would have the war settled in 24 hours if elected president.
“Here’s the silver lining. Those answers show why Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States. No rational person believes you can get the Ukrainians and Russians to agree how to resolve it in 24 hours,” Bolton said.
The ex-national security advisor added that Trump’s comment that he doesn’t think in terms of winning and losing when he thinks of Ukraine “shows he’s utterly out of touch with what the war’s all about and what the implications of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are all around the world.”
Kaitlan Collins, who hosted the town hall last week, asked Bolton to assess Trump’s foreign-policy skills and his claim Putin would never have invaded if he was in office.
“Trump has this impression that foreign leaders — especially adversaries — hold him in good regard, that he’s got a good relationship with Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I have been in those rooms with him when he’s met with those leaders. I believe they think he’s a laughing fool,” Bolton responded.
“And the idea that somehow his presence in office would have deterred Putin is flatly wrong. If anything, if Trump had won a second term and done what I think he intended to do which is get out of NATO, Putin would have just waited and let him do it and even the weakening of NATO would have made it a lot easier for the Russians to prevail,” Bolton added.
Bolton also criticized the Biden administration’s approach to Ukraine, explaining that for the time being, the most pressing issue isn’t further funding for Ukraine, which isn’t in serious trouble. “What’s in trouble and has been for some time is the lack of a clear American and NATO strategy of how to bring this war to a successful conclusion,” Bolton said.
The former national security advisor asserted that the election in Turkey is another point of real importance. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is currently headed into a runoff election against Kemal Kiliçdaroğlu, a candidate who has promised to pursue a much more democratic and secular path, strengthening frayed relationships with NATO and the West more generally.
“I’m afraid if [Erdoğan] wins that there will be real damage done to the NATO alliance, and I think we need to consider whether to suspend or expel Turkey,” Bolton explained.
For Bolton, Erdoğan being defeated would be a real victory for many concerned parties.
“It would be a significant plus not only in Europe where we face the Ukraine situation, but in the Middle East where Erdoğan has what can only be described as neo-Ottomanist aspirations to recreate a greater Turkey,” Bolton said.