Donald Trump isn't only ignorant and unfit to become president of the United States, he's also a threat to U.S. national security.
These scathing conclusions by former U.S. national security adviser John Bolton are only a few of Trump's dreadful personality traits detailed in Bolton's new book, "The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir."
Bolton, who worked with Trump at the White House for 17 months, said Trump is "stunningly uninformed" and lacks the competence to carry out the job of president of the United States. These staggering intellectual deficits make Trump not "fit for office," said Bolton.
Talking from the point of view of a national security and foreign policy expert, Bolton cites numerous instances where Trump knowingly placed his own personal interests ahead of those of the United States. He emphasizes the only driving force behind Trump's decision-making since being sworn in as U.S. president is the need to be re-elected on November 3.
"There really isn't any guiding principle that I was able to discern other than what's good for Donald Trump's reelection," said Bolton. "He was so focused on the reelection that longer-term considerations fell by the wayside."
Trump officially filed his reelection papers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Jan. 20, 2017, the day of his inauguration as U.S. president. Trump launched his reelection bid much earlier than Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush. Obama filed for reelection on April 2, 2011, or more than three years after he assumed the presidency.
Trump's overriding need to be reelected even saw him to try to enlist the aid of U.S. enemies. Bolton was particularly angry at Trump's "bromance" with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un that yielded no strategic advantage to the U.S. whatsoever. This unnatural attachment -- Trump infamously said he and Kim "fell in love" -- gave Trump the photo-opportunities (or photo-ops) he needed to inflate his miniscule stature on the world stage.
"I was sick at heart over Trump's zeal to meet with Kim Jong Un," wrote Bolton.
Bolton revealed Trump's "diplomacy" with Kim placed considerable emphasis on photo-ops and little or no focus on what these meetings did to improve the strategic and bargaining position of the U.S.
In the end, it was Kim that got the better of Trump. Bolton incisively noted Kim got what he wanted from the U.S. in terms of legitimacy and a massive exposure on the world stage. Trump also what he wanted personally -- tons of photo-ops. The U.S. got nothing.
Bolton pointed out Trump "couldn't tell the difference between his personal interests and the country's interests." He said this ignorant viewpoint endangers U.S. national security.
Bolton said he was extremely alarmed by Trump's determination to do favors for dictators such Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The latter in 2018 complained about a Turkish firm under investigation for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Bolton said Trump told Erdogan he'd take care of things. He said the Southern District prosecutors aren't his people, but Obama's. He'd fix the problem by replacing them with his people.
