Former National Security Adviser John Bolton 'prepared' to run against Trump


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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Why is this government shutdown so consequential?
Today's Big Question Federal employee layoffs could be in the thousands
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal