Trump Asked For Reelection Help From China, Former National Security Adviser John Bolton Alleges In Memoir

President Trump asked for reelection help from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to a new book from former National Security Adviser John Bolton. The scathing revelations were released Wednesday in Bolton's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.

During a June 2019 meeting between Trump and Xi in Japan, the Chinese President “told Trump that the U.S.-China relationship was the most important in the world" and said, "some (unnamed) American political figures were making erroneous judgments by calling for a new cold war with China."

"Whether Xi meant to finger the Democrats or some of us sitting on the U.S. side of the table, I don't know, but Trump immediately assumed that Xi meant the Democrats. Trump said approvingly that there was great hostility to China among the Democrats," Bolton wrote.

"Trump then, stunningly, turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, alluding to China's economic capability and pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win. He stressed the importance of farmers and increased Chinese purchases of soybeans and wheat in the electoral outcome," he continued.

Bolton said Trump’s foreign policy decisions were frequently driven by whether it would bolster his reelection chances. He also claimed Trump should have been impeached for other actions beyond his dealings with Ukraine. During the House impeachment inquiry, Bolton declined to testify on Trump’s interactions with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and vowed to fight a subpoena in court.

The book, “The Room Where It Happened,” was obtained in full by the New York Times. Bolton wrote that Trump was willing to drop criminal investigations as a “favor” to foreign dictators he liked, with Bolton mentioning probes into Chinese and Turkish law firms. "The pattern looked like obstruction of justice as a way of life, which we couldn't accept," Bolton wrote, according to the Times.

The book also sheds light on Trump’s thoughts on journalists. In a July 2019 meeting in New Jersey, Trump said members of the news media are “scumbags” who should be “executed," the book claims. Trump has previously called the press “the enemy of the people.” Human rights watchdog Freedom House has said press freedom in the United States has been declining under the Trump administration.

The Trump administration has sued Bolton to block the publication of the book on June 23. The lawsuit from the Department of Justice says the book contains “classified information” and Bolton could face “criminal problems” over its release.

Bolton served as Trump’s National Security Adviser from April 2018 to September 2019 and left due to disagreements on foreign policy issues. A hawkish conservative, Bolton has advocated regime change in nations such as Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran and has openly criticized Trump’s overtures to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Prior to his tenure in the Trump administration, Bolton has served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations as a recess appointee by President George W. Bush from August 2005 to December 2006. Bolton has harshly criticized the U.N., as he believes the international body infringes upon American sovereignty.