Former National Security Adviser John Bolton looks ready to have his say.
Exactly one month after his exit, Axios reported Thursday Bolton is planning to write a book about his time in the Trump administration. He's reportedly being represented by Javelin's Matt Latimer and Keith Urbahn, who previously represented former FBI Director James Comey.
President Trump and Bolton parted on bad terms, to say the least, with Trump announcing in September he fired Bolton, only for Bolton to immediately begin texting reporters to say he actually resigned. The two reportedly got into a "bitter argument" right before his ouster about Trump's plan to host the Taliban at Camp David.
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.
Almost immediately after Bolton was gone, Trump began publicly trashing him, telling reporters the day following his exit he "made some very big mistakes" and "got us into Iraq."
"I hope we've left in good stead, but maybe we haven't," Trump added.
It seems safe to say they haven't, especially since Bolton reportedly "ripped" Trump at a private event in September. Now, Axios reports senior White House officials have "privately expressed concerns about what Bolton might say and reveal about his time serving Trump." Trump himself, clearly, won't be happy with Bolton's plans. The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey reports that when former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly left the administration, Trump specifically asked him not to write a book; he has reportedly told aides, "I hate these books."
Although Bolton said last month he has a "self-imposed restriction" about going into details about his White House tenure, he vowed after his ouster that he'd "have my say in due course." This book will give him a platform to do just that, and The Daily Beast reported last month Bolton was already speaking with literary agents about writing it, with one source saying, "He has a lot to dish."
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Crossword: November 30, 2025The daily crossword from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
