John Bolton declares former president ‘poisonous’: Mini-Trumps risk ‘political suicide’ in midterms

Ambassador John Bolton on Thursday warned Republicans that they may lose the midterms if they don't distance themselves from Donald Trump.

Bolton made the warning as his Super PAC released new polling on the Senate battleground races in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina.

"We can still win these races, but the candidates need to separate themselves from Trump," Bolton counseled. "Whatever Trump’s role in the nominating process, his role in the coming general elections can be fatal to GOP efforts to gain outright control of the Senate."

The polling showed Pennsylvania GOP nominee Mehmet Oz trailing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman by six points, the same margin by which Republican J.D. Vance is trailing Democrat Tim Ryan in Ohio.

And it found GOP Rep. Ted Budd trailing Democrat Cheri Beasley by three points in North Carolina.

“Trump’s fixation on himself and the 2020 election are poisonous to independent and undecided voters," Bolton said. "Republican candidates who hope to win in November are risking political suicide if they stress their closeness to Trump, or allow their opponents to portray them as mini-Trumps.”

The poll also found a razor-thin plurality believes Trump should be prosecuted and only 33.3% backing Trump in 2024, while 30.7% prefer GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Bolton has been a fixture in Republican Party politics for decades. He served as assistant attorney general in the Reagan administration and assistant secretary of state in the George H.W. Bush administration. He was ambassador the the United Nations in the George W. Bush administration and served as Trump's national security advisor.