John Bolton May Run For President To Beat Trump, Stop His Return To Office

Former national security adviser John Bolton said he may challenge former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections if no other potential Republican candidates denounce Trump.

In his interview with NBC's "Meet the Press Now" Monday, Bolton urged Republicans, especially potential presidential contenders, to strongly condemn Trump's comment suggesting that the Constitution should be terminated.

The former White House official said he would consider running for president to stop his former boss from returning to power.

"I'd like to see Shermanesque statements from all the potential candidates," Bolton said in the interview. "If I don't see that, I'm going to seriously consider getting in."

Bolton described Trump's statement as "disqualifying" and said any presidential candidate should denounce people who would "undercut" the Constitution.

The relationship between the two Republicans broke down after Trump announced via Twitter in September 2019 that he fired Bolton. But the former adviser insisted that he had resigned.

Bolton and Trump reportedly clashed over how to approach a number of international issues, including those involving Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran.

Bolton's comment came after Trump posted via his Truth Social account Saturday that the Constitution should be terminated to overturn the 2020 election results and reinstate him to power.

Trump made the statement in response to the leaked internal discussions on Twitter over a New York Post story about Hunter Biden's laptop files.

"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," Trump wrote in the post, as per Politico.

The Biden White House quickly condemned the former president, saying that Trump's attacks against the Constitution were "anathema to the soul of our nation."

Several GOP personalities have also criticized Trump for making comments attacking the Constitution.

Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt said he couldn't imagine that a former president would suggest terminating the Constitution, NBC News reported.

Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn called the former president's comments "irresponsible."

Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who were among the few GOP senators who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, also called out the former president.

Other GOP senators, such as Rick Scott of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, said they would leave it to the voters if they found Trump's remarks disqualifying.

Trump, who lost to then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 elections, announced his third bid for the presidency last month.