John Bolton, onetime national security adviser and United Nations ambassador for former President Donald Trump, has suggested he will throw his hat into the 2024 GOP presidential campaign, should Republicans not sufficiently denounce Trump as "un-American."
In interviews with NBC on Monday, and CNN Tuesday morning, Bolton — who has never held elected office — affirmed that he was "prepared" to challenge Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, explaining that candidates "can't simply say 'I support the Constitution."
"You have to say 'I would oppose people who would undercut it,'" he continued.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bolton's threat to enter the race comes as GOP officials have largely offered muted criticisms of Trump's recent call for "termination" of the U.S. Constitution, and the reinstatement of himself as president following his 2020 electoral defeat. Bolton had previously mulled entering the 2016 presidential race but ultimately demurred, later serving as the Trump administration's national security adviser. He left the administration under dubious circumstances in 2019, and has become a vocal critic of the Trump White House, and the former president himself, since returning to private life. Trump has similarly raged against his onetime adviser, claiming in 2020 that "if I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now," and reportedly encouraged a criminal investigation of Bolton, as well.
Trump has not offered any public comment on Bolton's recent openness to challenging him for the 2024 GOP nomination.
-
Political cartoons for November 27Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include giving thanks, speaking American, and more
-
We Did OK, Kid: Anthony Hopkins’ candid memoir is a ‘page-turner’The Week Recommends The 87-year-old recounts his journey from ‘hopeless’ student to Oscar-winning actor
-
The Mushroom Tapes: a compelling deep dive into the trial that gripped AustraliaThe Week Recommends Acclaimed authors team up for a ‘sensitive and insightful’ examination of what led a seemingly ordinary woman to poison four people
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
X’s location update exposes international troll industryIn the Spotlight Social media platform’s new transparency feature reveals ‘scope and geographical breadth’ of accounts spreading misinformation
-
Tariffs: Will Trump’s reversal lower prices?Feature Retailers may not pass on the savings from tariff reductions to consumers
-
Trump: Is he losing control of MAGA?Feature We may be seeing the ‘first meaningful right-wing rebellion against autocracy of this era’
-
Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a TimelineIN DEPTH The alleged relationship between deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump has become one of the most acute threats to the president’s power
-
Why is Donald Trump suddenly interested in Sudan?Today's Big Question A push from Saudi Arabia’s crown prince helped
