Boris Johnson played Trump 'like a fiddle' according to John Bolton

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played Donald Trump "like a fiddle," according to the President's former national security adviser John Bolton.
• Bolton said that the UK Prime Minister was able to play on Trump's inability to distinguish between the strength of personal relationships and the strategic value of national relationships.
• Bolton said: 'I've known Boris before he was prime minister. I think he's got a good sense of humour and I had the sense that behind those twinkling eyes he was playing Trump like a fiddle too.'
• The White House tried unsuccessfully to prevent the publication of Bolton's explosive tell-all account of his time serving the Trump administration, claiming it would violate national security.
• Trump has said that Bolton 'must pay a very big price' for publishing allegedly sensitive national security information.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has played Donald Trump "like a fiddle," according to the president's former national security adviser, John Bolton.

Bolton, who served President Trump from April 2018 until he resigned in September 2019, said that there was a "sea change" in the relationship between the US president when Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as prime minister last year.

Trump had a frosty relationship with Theresa May, who he chided over her failure to deliver Brexit, but Trump is fond of Johnson, to the point that he gave him his personal cell number.

Bolton said that this would benefit the UK because Trump is unable to distinguish the strength of personal relationships between leaders and the strength of national relationships.

Speaking to Channel 4 News on Thursday, Bolton said: "There was a sea change in the personal relationship that existed between Donald Trump and Theresa May when Boris Johnson came in," he told Channel 4 News on Thursday.

"The reason this is positive for Britain is that Trump can't distinguish between his personal relationships with a counterpart leader and the actual state of the national relationships between two countries."

Bolton denied, however, that Johnson's behaviour could be characterised as "sucking up" to Trump.

"I've known Boris before he was prime minister. I think he's got a good sense of humour and I had the sense that behind those twinkling eyes he was playing Trump like a fiddle too," he said.

The White House tried unsuccessfully to prevent the publication of Bolton's explosive tell-all account of his time serving the Trump administration, claiming it would violate national security.

In the book, Bolton accuses Trump of being unfit for office and makes claims including that Trump sought re-election help from foreign countries, and was ignorant of basic geography.

Trump said on Twitter that Bolton "must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him."

The president also tweeted on Tuesday, the day the book was published: "Washed up Creepster John Bolton is a lowlife who should be in jail, money seized, for disseminating, for profit, highly Classified information. Remember what they did to the young submarine sailor, but did nothing to Crooked Hillary. I ended up pardoning him - It wasn't fair!"