The American political scene is the scene of a real frenzy around several books that should be released in the next few years, in a particular period marked by big questions and quite a few connotations. The most emblematic of these is the book “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” which the White House has been dreading since January and has tried to block from publication.
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton describes situations that took place during his time in office. Through his book, Bolton gives his judgment on the personality, capacity and eligibility of President Donald Trump to head the US.
Bolton’s account contains serious events and stories to which many politicians have been prompted to react. The book had previously provoked the White House to vigorously seek a court order to stop its publication, even though chapters have already been leaked by the media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not alone in rejecting Bolton’s account, who was skeptical about Kushner’s ability to provide solutions to the Palestinian cause. The strongest response came from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who went so far as to call Bolton a “traitor.” “It is both sad and dangerous that John Bolton’s final public role is that of a traitor who damaged America by violating his sacred trust with its people,” he said in a statement titled “I Was In The Room Too.”
Although the book has not yet been published as of this time, reaction to the excerpts has been swift and strong, attesting to the seriousness of Bolton’s claims. As well, the accusations, facts and statements are told by a staunch Republican warmonger and a reputable politician, not a run-of-the-mill person. What this means is that, a few months before the November presidential election, the Republican Party is not in unison.
Pompeo seemed to be rushing to react. In his book, Bolton spoke of telling statements about the relationship between Pompeo and Trump. The media reported that according to the book, the US Secretary of State mocked the US President during a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018 in Singapore.
Bolton said Pompeo handed him a paper in which he wrote about Trump that he was “full of s—,” and then criticized the way Trump approached North Korea. According to Bolton, Pompeo said he had “zero probability of success.” Many feel these allegations could undermine the close ties between Trump and his secretary of state.
The US President is notoriously intolerant of such things. The many things that Bolton attributes to Pompeo may also cast doubt on those ties. It’s not just Trump’s approach to North Korea. Bolton even adds other testimonials, such as the time Pompeo complained that he almost had a “cardiac arrest” during a phone conversation with the South Korean president. This puts the secretary of state in a tough spot and undercuts the president’s confidence in his support. Maybe this explains Pompeo’s speedy and fierce reaction to Bolton’s book.
The former national security advisor makes no secret of his prime objective to publish his book now. Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the US, that is the message he conveyed in a television interview on ABC News. “I don’t think he’s fit for office. I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job.” It also explains Bolton’s willingness to expose many serious facts, some of which could originally affect US national security as the White House has said. He accused President Trump of serious slip-ups in his quest for a new presidential term, such as explicitly asking Chinese President Xi Jinping for help winning.
Bolton’s memoir matters to American political, media and public circles for two reasons. First is Bolton’s political weight and position in Republican and Democratic circles. Second, there are the specific facts that took place at the White House, his analysis of the president’s character, his description of him as “stunningly uninformed” about basic geopolitical facts, and his decisions made to put him on the path to a second term.
Prior to his ouster, Bolton was described as a soon-to-be close ally of President Trump. But their views diverged on a variety of issues, including North Korea and China. Their agreement on Iran was about hating the regime, not about what strategy to use against it. President Trump has always sought a “deal” with the mullahs. As for Bolton, he has always wanted to persuade the White House to launch a severe military strike against the Iranian regime.
This discrepancy of vision sprung from Trump’s conviction of the sanctions and the economic blockade are effective, whereas Bolton kept hawkishly convinced that the use of force was unavoidable to attain the objectives of American foreign policy and to overthrow rogue regimes.
This was certainly no secret to Trump, who apparently used it to intimidate the mullahs and make them believe that he was inclined to the military option in order to drive them to the negotiating table. Trump himself described Bolton’s negotiating style as that of a “Mr. Tough Guy” who “wasn’t getting along with people in the administration that I consider very important.”
It is worth remembering that Bolton’s dismissal coincided with Trump’s bid to open up to two regimes hated by Republican warmongers, including Bolton, who made it clear that the two countries were not worthy of trust. This attitude played into firing his national security adviser, the sworn enemy of both regimes. But the result was that Trump lost Bolton to the opposition camp, and also failed to strike a deal with either regime.
