As President Donald Trump insists there was massive vote fraud, many elected Republican officials have been reluctant to criticize or rebuff his claims.
However, former National Security Adviser John Bolton has not been afraid to speak out about the president’s behavior in the days since the election.
Now, Trump is firing back.
In a tweet on Sunday, he said, “John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the ‘pleasure’ to work with. A sullen, dull, and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, ‘Gee, let’s go to war.’ Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!”
John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the “pleasure” to work with. A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, “Gee, let’s go to war.” Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2020
Major news outlets have called the race for Biden, but Trump has refused to concede the race, and few Republicans have been willing to publicly acknowledge former Vice President Joe Biden (D) as the winner of the election.
However, Bolton is calling on members of Trump’s party to speak out and acknowledge the outcome of the election. In an interview with NPR, he said, “They may not like it, but the country deserves to give him the preparation he needs. A gracious president who kept the country’s interest first would acknowledge that.”
“All I’m saying is that showing disagreement with the president is not fatal to your political future. I’m not asking anybody to climb Mount Suribachi and plant the American flag on top of it,” he added.
He also called on Republicans to at least call for Biden to receive regular intelligence briefings.
On Sunday, Bolton said he believes Republicans are getting closer to acknowledging the results of the election, “I think they’re getting ready to do it. I said I think this is a character test for the Republican party. I don’t buy the argument that Donald Trump has hypnotized Republican voters or that they’re not capable of accepting the truth.”
“This is a myth that’s being perpetrated that’s simply not true, but it requires people to explain what happened. The Trump campaign simply has no evidence. Their basic argument is this was a conspiracy so vast and so successful that there is no evidence of it,” he added.
In a separate interview, Bolton explained why he is not concerned about criticizing Trump, “What’s the president going to do to me, sue me?”
He added, “Come at me again. I’m ready.”
