Trump's tweets contradict administration's claims that Bolton's book is full of classified information
John Bolton's book is somehow both "lies" and "classified information," President Trump and his team are claiming.
Before the former national security adviser published his White House memoir The Room Where It Happened, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to get its publication delayed, claiming Bolton didn't submit the manuscript for a White House review and was set to air "classified information." But now that the book is in the hands of journalists and Bolton's grievances are out in the world, Trump has pivoted to decrying the book's alleged "lies and fake stories."
Bolton's book claims Trump encouraged China's president to build concentration camps, called for journalists to be executed, and asserts Trump should've been impeached for more than just his Ukraine scandal. Trump took a stab at dispelling all that in a tweet just after midnight Thursday, calling the book "made up of lies and fake stories" and saying Bolton was "a disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war." He said something similar in another tweet a few hours later.
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.
When responders started questioning just how both things could be true, the White House's Director of Strategic Communications tried to clear it up. Kathryn Krawczyk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Massacre in the favela: Rio’s police take on the gangsIn the Spotlight The ‘defence operation’ killed 132 suspected gang members, but could spark ‘more hatred and revenge’
-
The John Lewis ad: touching, or just weird?Talking Point This year’s festive offering is full of 1990s nostalgia – but are hedonistic raves really the spirit of Christmas?
-
Sudoku hard: November 15, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
