I spoke with Radio FM4’s Steven Crilley on Thursday about extracts from the memoir of John Bolton, Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor.
The passages bolster the image of Trump as an uninformed bully, enamored of authoritarian leaders like China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. They add detail such as Trump’s request to Xi to interfere in the 2020 Presidential election, and his eager support of the internment of more than 1 million Uighur Muslims in camps in northwest China.
Trump is unaware that the UK has nuclear weapons, and believes Finland is part of Russia, reinforcing descriptions from former senior advisors that he is an “idiot” and a “f***ing moron”.
But the key question: will Bolton’s confirmation — which could have led to Trump’s conviction and removal of office in January, had Bolton’s priority been the US system rather than his book sales — damage Trump in November’s vote?
This is published in the midst of a pandemic in which almost 120,000 Americans have died, in large part because of the mismanagement of the Trump Administration. This comes amid Black Lives Matter marches, raising economic and social issues as well as that of police violence, and Trump has appeared uncertain and confrontational.
That ability of Donald Trump to divide and rule America has already been weakened and John Bolton’s book gives further ammunition to those who think, “If we want responsible leadership, Donald Trump is not the way to go in November.”
