Writing for the Rachel Maddow blog, long-time producer Steve Benen explained that John Bolton's latest attack on Donald Trump is starting to make him sound like a Democrat.
“A mountain of facts demonstrates that Trump is unfit to be president,” Benen wrote, quoting Bolton but without initially identifying the source. “If his first four years were bad, a second four will be worse.”
"If you’re thinking the quote came from President Joe Biden or a congressional Democrat, that would certainly make sense," he explained.
The conservative former White House national security adviser has released new content in the recently published paperback version of his book, including the excerpts that Benen quoted, which were also reported by Axios.
In the new forward, Bolton writes Trump would likely abandon N.A.T.O. entirely, something he's only hinted at, parroting policies previously used by Vladimir Putin. "It is almost inevitable that a second-term Trump policy on Ukraine will favor Moscow," Bolton writes.
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And while Trump claims to fight China, nations like Taiwan "face real peril in a second Trump term," Bolton adds, explaining that under President Xi Jinping, whom Trump has openly praised, the whole island may be blockaded to stop trade with the U.S.
In "The Room Where It Happened," Bolton details his account of the 17 months with Donald Trump. He promises: "If his first four years were bad, a second four will be worse."
"Trump really cares only about retribution for himself, and it will consume much of a second term," Bolton writes.
Bolton previously said that he had hoped the gravity of the job would shake Trump out of it, in a way.
"He cares almost exclusively about his own interests," Bolton writes. And Trump is surrounded by "a White House of serfs" to execute his every whim.
Because Trump can't legally run for a third term, Bolton echoed concerns that he'll operate as if there's nothing to lose.
Benen cited a recent CNN interview in which Bolton said Trump's candidacy is the fever dream of Russia, China and North Korea because they all see Trump as a"fool" and "easy mark."
“They’re fully prepared to take advantage of him,” he added. “Trump’s self-absorption makes it impossible for him to understand that."
Bolton’s comments come just three weeks after former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who also worked for the former president, called Trump “a threat to democracy, democracy as we know it, our institutions, our political culture, all those things that make America great and have defined us.”
While many former Trump advisers are happy to come out publicly, they haven't committed to endorsing Trump's Democratic competitor, Biden. They also haven't been willing to go out on their own campaign trail, coordinating with other former Trump staff.
