- Fox's top opinion hosts are criticizing President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, who is also their former colleague.
- This comes after bombshell reports about Bolton's upcoming book, which contains information that undermines the president's defense in his ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.
- Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, an informal adviser to the president, decried Bolton as "a tool for the radical Dems and the deep state," while Fox contributor Dan Bongino claimed "nobody cares" what Bolton has to say.
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Some of the top hosts at Fox News and Fox Business have lashed out at their former colleague and President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, following the news that Bolton's new book reportedly contains information that undermines the president's defense in his ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.
Fox Business host Lou Dobbs, an informal adviser to the president, decried Bolton as a "tool for the left" on his Monday show.
"John Bolton himself has been reduced to a tool for the radical Dems and the deep state," Dobbs said. "I never thought I'd see that fellow descend to these depths."
The New York Times reported on Sunday that Bolton wrote in his upcoming book that the president told him last year that he would withhold military aid to Ukraine until the Ukrainian president acceded to his demands for investigations into his political rivals.
Bolton's allegations contradicct Trump's repeated claim that he didn't leverage the military aid to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democratic opponents.
A staunch conservative who served under the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, Bolton was a paid Fox contributor for 11 years and was recommended to Trump by Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of Fox's parent company.
Fox contributor Dan Bongino told "Fox and Friends" there's "nothing here" when it comes to Bolton's allegations. He tweeted that "nobody cares" what Bolton has to say about his conversations with the president.
Primetime Fox News host Laura Ingraham, who's said she'd take a job in the Trump administration, called Bolton's claims a "red herring."
Fox News host Dana Perino, who was Bolton's spokeswoman while she worked for the Bush administration, minimized Bolton's allegations as a "little leak" and argued he should've waited until Trump was out of office to write his book.
"I think that books that come in the middle of it always end up looking like it's for personal gain, even if it isn't necessarily that way, and they're always taken the wrong way and they hurt the very person who gave you the opportunity to work in the White House," she said during Monday's "The Five."
Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson, who has long criticized Bolton's hawkish approach to foreign affairs, took a victory lap on Monday night and compared Bolton to a snake.
"Republicans in Washington seem shocked to discover that Bolton has turned and betrayed his former boss, Donald Trump. But they shouldn't be shocked," Carlson said. "That's who John Bolton is. That's who John Bolton has always been. That's what John Bolton does."
But Fox apparently isn't doing enough to defend Trump.
On Tuesday, the president slammed the network, accusing it of "trying to be so politically correct by loading the airwaves with Democrats."
"Watch, this will be the beginning of the end for Fox, just like the other two which are dying in the ratings," he added, presumably referring to CNN and MSNBC.
Tool of the Radical Left. @MarkMeadows slams John Bolton for his lies and pathetic publicity stunt. #AmericaFirst #MAGA #Dobbs pic.twitter.com/WXL15RtfYG
- Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) January 28, 2020Scenes from a Breakdown pic.twitter.com/4qMhmRISfk
- Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) January 28, 2020More from the ongoing meltdown. pic.twitter.com/ZPpmdrLlxi
- Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) January 28, 2020Regarding Bolton:
1) Nobody cares
2) The aid was delivered
3) The Ukrainians aren't victims (just ask them)
4) The Democrats' corruption in Ukraine is real
5) Nobody cares
- Dan Bongino (@dbongino) January 27, 2020