Bolton: "President Trump Unfit... Americans Need to Know the Truth"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Former White House National Security Council (NSC) advisor John Bolton has effectively launched a campaign against President Donald Trump ahead of the U.S. presidential election, stating that "he is unfit to be president."

On the 21st (local time), Bolton told the British daily The Telegraph in an interview, "President Trump does not represent the Republican cause that I support."

Since Bolton has held senior positions in Republican administrations dating back to Ronald Reagan's government, The Telegraph analyzed that his unusual remarks reflect significant dissatisfaction with President Trump.

Bolton also intensified his criticism of Trump's governance style and philosophy. He said, "President Trump has no philosophical foundation or strategy," adding, "He cannot distinguish between the national interests of the United States and his own interests." He further pointed out, "His knowledge of how government functions is shallow, and he has not tried to learn. President Trump runs the government as if it were a small family business, but the nation has many important matters."

He added, "This means there is no consistent theme or strategy," and "Decisions made this way can be easily reversed."

Bolton expressed dissatisfaction with how Trump handles foreign policy as well. He said, "There is no long-term strategy regarding Russia and China," and criticized the North Korea negotiations, stating, "They failed to the extent that North Korea blew up a building jointly constructed with South Korea and continued its nuclear and missile programs." He added, "Iran has not been deterred in the past three years, and Trump's incompetence in these matters is even more evident."

The Telegraph reported that Bolton would cast his vote for Democratic candidate Vice President Joe Biden in this election. However, Bolton's spokesperson immediately denied this in a statement, clarifying, "Bolton makes it clear that he will vote for neither Trump nor Biden."

He criticized Trump for equating personal friendships with other national leaders as diplomatic success. Bolton said, "President Trump believed that having a good relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping meant the U.S. and China had a good relationship, and if his relationship with former British Prime Minister Theresa May was poor, he perceived that the U.S. and the U.K. had a poor relationship."

Regarding the background of writing his upcoming memoir, The Room Where It Happened, set to be published on the 23rd, he said, "If you hold a senior position, you have a duty to tell the truth," adding, "After spending 17 months in the White House, I was concerned that President Trump was unfit for the presidency, and this is something the American people need to know."

He also added that he believes now is the right time to publish the memoir because the presidential election is the most important political decision for Americans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.