Former president Donald Trump “He barely knew where Ukraine was,” said his former national security adviser, John Bolton, as he told a Newsmax presenter that the Trump administration was “very tough” on Russia.
“In almost every case, sanctions were imposed, and Trump complained about it, saying we were too hard,” Bolton said in an interview with Newsmax’s Rob Schmidt on Monday night. “He once asked John Kelly, the second chief of staff, if he did.” Finland were part of Russia.
Bolton went on to tell the host that “it is not accurate to say that Trump’s behavior has somehow deterred the Russians.”
Former President Donald Trump “barely knew where Ukraine was”, said his former national security adviser John Bolton (right), while responding to Newsmax presenter Rob Schmidt (left) that the Trump administration was “very tough” on Russia
Former President Donald Trump appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Saturday night and insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not act on his watch because he is a “strong president”
Instead, Bolton suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not think his military was ready to stage a widespread invasion of Ukraine.
Schmidt reiterated the points Trump made himself on Saturday night at the Conference on Conservative Political Action.
“I am the only president of the 21st century whose watch Russia has not invaded,” Trump boasted from the Orlando stage. “Under Bush, Russia invaded Georgia. Under Obama, Russia took over Crimea. Under Biden, Russia invaded Ukraine.
“The world is always safer when America has a strong president. The world is always in danger with a weak American president, “Trump said.
Schmidt argues that this is “something to be said for the simple fact that there has been no aggression in the four years.”
“I mean, you were also part of this administration and there was no aggression from Russia, and they waited for it, it seems, and made a move,” said Bolton, who became a critic of the former president after leaving the White House. .
Schmidt pointed to Trump’s criticism of NATO members in Europe who use Russian energy sources.
“I mean, he took a very firm stand against Russia,” Schmidt said. “I’m surprised you don’t think he could do it better than Joe Biden.”
Bolton rejected Schmidt’s assessment that Trump was firm.
“No, he didn’t,” Bolton said. ‘He is not.’
Bolton also told Schmidt that it was incorrect to say that the Trump administration had sanctioned Nord Stream 2, the Russian-German gas pipeline that was officially canceled last week by the German government on the eve of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have not sanctioned Nord Stream 2,” Bolton said. ‘We have to have.’
Schmidt asked Bolton if he believed Trump was “soft on Russia,” trying to dispel the idea that the former president was “Putin’s puppy.”
“I don’t think he understands what he’s doing,” Bolton said. “This is my main point. This is not really a political argument.
“It’s about Trump’s lack of any significant historical knowledge, his lack of strategic thinking and, frankly, his lack of thinking about almost anything other than what’s good for Donald Trump,” he said. Trump’s White House.
“Why was he worried about Ukraine in the summer of 2019? Because he wanted this DNC server. Why was he worried about corruption in Ukraine? “Because he was looking for an excuse to cover up the reason he refused to send $ 250 million in security aid to Ukraine,” Bolton added.
Bolton was referring to Trump’s moves in 2019, which led to his first impeachment.
House Democrats have accused Trump of suspending congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine as part of a campaign to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden.
He was acquitted in the Senate, with only one Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, on the side of the Democrats, agreeing with one of the members of the impeachment that Trump was abusing his power.
Schmidt claims that the money for arming Ukraine was sent to the country.
“It was authorized by Congress,” Bolton said. “He figured out the reasons he did it.” He wanted to put pressure on his own political goals, “Bolton said of Trump’s efforts to stop the money from going to Ukraine.
Schmidt said it was unfair to say that there were no “smart” moves against Putin during Trump’s term.
Bolton said he didn’t say that.
“My point was that Trump was not fit to be president, he was not competent to be president,” Bolton argued instead.
Schmidt then pointed out that Bolton worked for Trump.
“I did, I did,” the former White House official admitted, adding, “to help protect American national security.”
Trump praised Putin throughout his stay at the White House and sided with the Russian leader over US intelligence agencies during the Helsinki Summit in July 2018 for Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
On the eve of the invasion, Trump called Putin “genius” and “smart” for his moves against Ukraine.
At CPAC, Trump leaned in to comment, telling the crowd: “The problem is not that Putin is smart, of course he’s smart, but the real problem is that our leaders are stupid.”