Trump slammed John Bolton for writing 'nasty & untrue book,' and said we'd be in 'World War Six' if he hadn't fired him
- President Donald Trump went after John Bolton, his former national security adviser, in a series of Wednesday-morning tweets.
- He called Bolton's upcoming memoir "nasty & untrue," and that he had listened to Bolton while he was a top adviser, "we would be in World War Six by now."
- The tweets come days after reports that Bolton's book undercuts Trump's central defense against his impeachment, and links military aid to Ukraine to a request for investigations into political rivals Joe Biden.
- Republicans are currently deliberating over whether to call Bolton to testify in Trump's ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump excoriated John Bolton, his former national security advisor, on Twitter on Wednesday as Republican senators continue to consider whether or not to call on John Bolton to testify in the president's impeachment trial.
Trump ripped into Bolton for writing what he described as a "nasty & untrue book," referring to his upcoming memoir.
The president, who has said he only hires the "best people," also suggested "we would be in World War Six by now" if he had listened to Bolton while he was still national security adviser.
"For a guy who couldn't get approved for the Ambassador to the U.N. years ago, couldn't get approved for anything since, 'begged' me for a non Senate approved job, which I gave him despite many saying 'Don't do it, sir,' takes the job, mistakenly says 'Libyan Model' on T.V., and ... many more mistakes of judgement, gets fired because frankly, if I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now, and goes out and IMMEDIATELY writes a nasty & untrue book. All Classified National Security. Who would do this?" Trump tweeted.
In a separate tweet, Trump said: "Why didn't John Bolton complain about this 'nonsense' a long time ago, when he was very publicly terminated. He said, not that it matters, NOTHING!"
Trump then added: "No matter how many witnesses you give the Democrats, no matter how much information is given, like the quickly produced Transcripts, it will NEVER be enough for them. They will always scream UNFAIR. The Impeachment Hoax is just another political CON JOB!"
These tweets come days after The New York Times reported that the former national security adviser's forthcoming book references an explicit quid pro quo linking military aid to Ukraine, to requests for investigations into Trump's biggest Democratic rival Joe Biden.
Bolton's claims directly undercut the president's central defense against impeachment, which is that Trump had asked for the investigations because he was genuinely concerned about corruption in Ukraine.
There have been growing calls for Bolton to testify in the Senate impeachment trial since this information on Bolton's upcoming memoir was leaked.
Bolton left his position as national security adviser in September 2019, one day after the House launched three investigations into Trump's Ukraine dealings. The White House and Bolton have publicly sparred over whether he was fired or if he resigned.
House impeachment investigators invited Bolton to voluntarily testify in the fall, but he declined. Bolton said he would only do so if he was subpoenaed and if a court ruled he should comply over orders from the White House - which has moved to block current and former officials from testifying.
In early January, however, Bolton said he would testify if subpoenaed by the GOP-controlled Senate. Democrats have considered Bolton a potentially crucial witness given other testimony that signaled he had strong reservations about Trump's efforts to urge Ukraine into launching investigations.
Trump's legal team concluded opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial on Tuesday.
Senators will now have a 16-hour opportunity to ask House impeachment managers and Trump's legal team questions before voting on whether to call for witnesses and further evidence. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sen. Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday night he might not have enough votes to block witnesses from testifying.