John Bolton Book: Trump Just Interested In Reelection, Approaches Foreign Policy Like A Real Estate Deal

Former national security adviser John Bolton says in his forthcoming book the only thing President Trump cares about is getting reelected – even if his tactics endanger the nation, a press release issued by Simon & Schuster alleges. He says Trump committed Ukraine-like transgressions throughout U.S. foreign policy.

Publication of the book, “The Room Where It Happened, a White House Memoir,” has been held up for months, with the White House still balking at clearing it. It has been reviewing the transcript since late last year.

The book is tentatively scheduled for publication June 23 and is expected to be the most detailed criticism yet from a former high-level administration official.

“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my tenure that wasn’t driven by reelection calculations,” Bolton writes, adding that Trump’s approach to the presidency was “stunning” in contrast to his Republican predecessors. Bolton also served in the Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations.

Bolton initially balked at testifying before House impeachment investigators but later said he would be willing to testify at Trump’s Senate trial. Republican senators, however, voted against calling any witnesses.

Trump was accused of abusing the power of his office, trying to leverage military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation by Kyiv into presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, over the latter’s relationship with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Bolton’s book alleges the House committed malpractice by focusing narrowly on Ukraine since there was so much else that should have been investigated.

Bolton, known as a prolific note-taker and hawk, says Trump approaches international relationships the same way he would approach a real estate deal, concentrating on personal relationships and showmanship to advance his personal interests. The result, Bolton says, are deepening threats from the likes of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Bolton, who is well respected in Republican foreign policy circles, has said he resigned but Trump insisted he fired Bolton because the two “disagreed strongly” on issues. Bolton also reportedly clashed with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and several other administration figures.

In recent months, Bolton criticized Trump’s decisions on troop reductions and the agreement signed with the Taliban but seemed to give pointers to the administration on reaction to China’s handling of the coronavirus and dealing with Iran.