Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, urged President Donald Trump over the weekend to reconsider pulling the protective security detail off of several administration officials who served during his first term in office.
Cotton made the remarks during a Sunday interview on &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; when asked about Trump&#8217;s decision to pull the details off of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former national security adviser John Bolton, and former Iran envoy Brian Hook.
&#8220;I would encourage the president to revisit the decision for those people who are being targeted by Iran,&#8221; Cotton said, noting that even Trump has been a target for Iranian assassination over the last few years in retaliation for the killing of Iranian terrorist commander Qasem Soleimani.
&#8220;As the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I&#8217;ve reviewed the intelligence in the last few days, the threat to anyone involved in President Trump&#8217;s strike on Qasem Soleimani is persistent,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s real. Iran is committed to vengeance against all of these people.&#8221;
&#8220;In fact, the chief of staff of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence agreed with me that if these threats were against him or his family that he would want security because the threats are real,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;There are gaps in our coverage. We don&#8217;t know what we don&#8217;t know, and it&#8217;s better to be safe than sorry, because it&#8217;s not just about these men who helped President Trump carry on his policy in his first term.&#8221;
Cotton said that the protective details also protect other innocent people who could get caught up in any kind of assassination attempts, including random bystanders in public spaces.
&#8220;It&#8217;s also about the President being able to get good people and get good advice,&#8221; Cotton said. &#8220;If people are saying going to work for the president now on Iran or China or North Korea or the Mexican drug cartels, they might hesitate to do so, or they might hesitate if they&#8217;re in office, to give him the advice he needs or carry out the policies that he decides upon.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) urges Trump to reconsider pulling the security details of former officials who have been threatened by Iran:
“I would encourage the president to revisit the decision for those people who are being targeted by Iran as the president was targeted for… <a href="https://t.co/uquQyjNoeN">pic.twitter.com/uquQyjNoeN</a>
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1883555853044732330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2025</a></blockquote>

Senate Judiciary Committee Considers Nominations For Judges

Cotton Urges Trump To ‘Revisit’ His Decision To Pull Protective Details Off People Targeted By Iran

Donald Trump

Iran

John Bolton

Mike Pompeo

Tom Cotton

According to a new <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/us/politics/trump-pompeo-security-iran.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, President Donald Trump has revoked the security details for his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Pompeo’s senior policy adviser, Brian Hook, who also served as the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, and Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton.
All three men have been threatened by the theocratic regime of Iran, which blamed Pompeo and Hook for the assassination of Iranian terror master, Iran Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
“God willing, we are looking to kill Trump [and] Pompeo … and military commanders who issued the order should be killed,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/iran-reissues-threat-kill-trump-pompeo-soleimani-death-announcing-long-range-cruise-missile" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in February 2023.
Pompeo, a staunch supporter of Trump during his first term, had both praised and criticized Trump after he left office, lauding Trump’s work on the southern border but <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/mike-pompeo-trump-fox-news-b2357298.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticizing</a> him for supposedly mishandling classified documents and additional spending which raised the deficit.
Last August, a Pakistani national with what FBI Director Christopher Wray called “close ties to Iran” was arrested and charged with orchestrating a scheme to reportedly <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistani-iran-murder-plot-u-s-officials/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assassinate</a> Trump as well as other government officials.
According to court documents, in April 2024, Asif Merchant, 46, who revealed he has a wife and children in both Iran and Pakistan, came to the U.S. after spending time in Iran. He contacted someone about his alleged scheme; that person, who became a confidential source (CS), then contacted the FBI. In early June in New York, Merchant met the CS and outlined his alleged plot to commit a series of assassinations in the U.S.
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In November, federal law enforcement officials foiled another plan to assassinate then-President-elect Trump that was connected to Iran.
The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-murder-hire-and-related-charges-against-irgc-asset-and-two" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indictment</a> against multiple individuals who were involved in plots to murder an Iranian dissident, two Jewish Americans, and Trump on U.S. soil.
Prosecutors indicted Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran, on multiple charges, including murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, money laundering conspiracy, conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and sanctions against the Government of Iran.
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UAE-US-DIPLOMACY-POMPEO

Trump Revokes Security Detail For Pompeo, Hook, Bolton. Iran Is Reportedly Targeting All Three.

Brian Hook

Death Threats

Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton said during an interview this week that President Joe Biden is effectively insulting his party by refusing to drop out of the presidential race.
Bolton made the remarks during a CNN interview when asked if Democrats should replace Biden and if they have enough time to replace him.
&#8220;Yeah, I think there are two points here,&#8221; said Bolton. &#8220;The message that President Biden basically gave to the Democratic Party yesterday evening was ‘Suit up, lemmings! I’m going off the edge of the cliff and you’re coming with me!'&#8221;
&#8220;Now, if that’s what the Democrats want to do, you know, they will elect Trump, they’ll also help elect a lot more Republican senators and House members,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is nobody who can guarantee that that debate failure or something similar to it will not occur in September or October, and everybody knows that. And at that point, the Democrats will not have any option. They will be stuck. They will be tied to the mast of Biden’s ship as it goes down.&#8221;
&#8220;This is their last clear chance to do anything,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And all I can say is if they leave Biden as the nominee and Trump wins, I think Trump has an obligation in his victory speech election night to thank Biden and the Democrats for nominating him.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Former Ambassador John Bolton: “The message that President Biden basically gave to the Democratic Party yesterday evening was ‘Suit up, lemmings! I’m going off the edge of the cliff and you’re coming with me!&#8217;” <a href="https://t.co/luFdF1JlZX">pic.twitter.com/luFdF1JlZX</a>
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1812222483925442759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2024</a></blockquote>

John Bolton, Former US National Security Advisor speaking at

Bolton On Biden: He’s Telling Democrats ‘Suit Up, Lemmings! I’m Going Off The Edge Of The Cliff And You’re Coming With Me!’

Joe Biden

Former National Security Advisor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-bolton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Bolton</a> gave CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer an earful when the longtime broadcaster attempted to push a New York Times-based attack on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
The controversy began last week with a New York Times &#8220;exposé&#8221; revealing that an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-alito-gives-his-side-of-story-on-the-neighborhood-spat-behind-nyt-flag-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upside-down American flag</a> had been spotted at the Justice&#8217;s home in Alexandria, Virginia. Despite the fact that Alito explained what had happened — his wife had hung the flag amid a dispute with a neighbor — the Times immediately concluded that because the flag was spotted in late January of 2021 and Capitol rioters had also carried upside-down flags, the only possible explanation was that Alito had supported the riots.
Less than a week later, a follow-up <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-times-targets-alito-again-this-time-its-for-revolutionary-war-era-flag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NYT report</a> revealed that Alito also had an &#8220;Appeal to Heaven&#8221; flag — a flag designed by George Washington&#8217;s private secretary and commissioned for use in the Continental Navy in 1775 — at his beach house in New Jersey. And because some of *those* flags had also been spotted on January 6th, the Times naturally ran with that as well.
But when Blitzer attempted to present that narrative to Bolton, the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. quickly called him out.
&#8220;I first heard of the upside-down American flag as being a Jan. 6 symbol when I read about it in The New York Times about a week ago. I had no idea what was going on in Justice Alito’s wife’s mind when she flew it, but if somebody hadn’t told me that they thought it was a symbol of the Jan. 6 people, I wouldn’t have guessed it. I would have thought maybe she was giving the finger to one of her neighbors, and that may not be appropriate, either,&#8221; Bolton said.
&#8220;But, I’m telling you, it’s getting to a point where people trying to take symbols of American patriotism and turn them against Supreme Court Justices is just over the line!&#8221; Bolton continued.
&#8220;But should a U.S. Supreme Court justice be using these flags that clearly, right now at least, have some political implications, as well as some history there. But, currently, they have political implications,&#8221; Blitzer pushed back, parroting the narrative.
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&#8220;They do not! That’s just wrong! That is just wrong!&#8221; Bolton protested.
Blitzer was insistent: &#8220;Well, they do have political implications, both of these flags.&#8221;
&#8220;It can’t — you — well, they don’t have political implications to me!&#8221; Bolton said.
&#8220;And they’re involved in Jan. 6,&#8221; Blitzer said, as if that was the deciding factor.
&#8220;A lot of things were used by Jan. 6!&#8221; Bolton observed.
&#8220;Turning the U.S. flag upside down was used by those who supported the insurrection, as you know, and this other flag —&#8221; Blitzer tried again.
&#8220;No! I did not know that! I didn’t know that ’til I read it in The New York Times!&#8221; Bolton said again.
&#8220;Well, a lot of people did know that, and that’s why it’s controversial,&#8221; Blitzer kept hammering the point.
&#8220;Well, it’s controversial for liberals! No, listen, Wolf! It’s controversial for liberals who have it in for Sam Alito,&#8221; Bolton turned the argument on the CNN anchor. &#8220;It’s not controversial for me, and I’m as against Donald Trump as anybody I know in this country.&#8221;
&#8220;So, bottom line, as far as you’re concerned, he should not recuse himself for the sake of the country?&#8221; Blitzer repeated Democrat calls for Alito to recuse himself on any case related to January 6th — something they had previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-according-to-the-washington-post-is-the-black-justice-whose-rulings-often-resemble-the-thinking-of-white-conservatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempted to accomplish</a> with Justice <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harlan-crow-hits-back-slams-yellow-journalism-and-political-hit-job-on-his-friend-clarence-thomas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clarence Thomas</a> as well.
&#8220;Wolf, that’s an unfair question. He should certainly not recuse himself; there’s no indication it was intended to support January the 6th, and I’ll tell you, those who are using this tactic against Alito now, it will come back to haunt them,&#8221; Bolton warned. &#8220;It’s an American patriotic flag. I support the right of anybody to fly it, period!&#8221;

US National Security Advisor John Bolton Press Conference In Kiev

John Bolton Unloads On Wolf Blitzer Over Alito Flag Brouhaha: ‘Just Over The Line!’

John Bolton Unloads On Wolf Blitzer Over Alito Flag Brouhaha: 'Just Over The Line!'

January 6

Media

Samuel Alito

U.S.

Wolf Blitzer

Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton slammed President Joe Biden over the weekend for encouraging Israel not to respond to Iran&#8217;s attacks on Saturday, saying that he was an &#8220;embarrassment to the United States.&#8221;
Bolton made the remarks during a Sunday CNN interview after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that included 185 one-way suicide drones, 110 surface-to-surface missiles, and 36 cruise missiles.
&#8220;And unless Iran sees a powerful response, that risk will continue,&#8221; Bolton said. &#8220;And the way to reestablish deterrence is not proportional. That&#8217;s academic talk. The way you establish deterrence is by telling your adversary, if you ever try that again, the price you will pay will be so much higher than any gain you think you can get, you shouldn&#8217;t even think about it.&#8221;
&#8220;So I think Israel has a wide range of potential targets. You start by flattening Iran&#8217;s air defense capabilities,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Next, you might go after headquarters of the regular military and the Revolutionary Guard. You could consider going after their oil infrastructure, the oil fields, the distribution pipelines, the export port facilities.&#8221;
&#8220;And, most importantly, I think Israel should be looking at this as an opportunity to destroy Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons program, which is the existential threat that Israel faces,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what they will do. I can&#8217;t predict it. But I will tell you this. If Joe Biden, as some press reports have it, is urging the Israelis not to retaliate at all, he is an embarrassment to the United States. This is an American interest to make sure that Iran, which is the principal threat to international peace and security in the region, is, at a minimum, put in its place to spare Israel, to spare the Gulf Arabs, to spare us from the threat that they pose.&#8221;
President Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-netanyahu-u-s-will-not-back-counterstrike-against-iran-report">reportedly</a> told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday that the United States would not support an Israeli counterattack against Iran.
Bolton slammed those in the U.S. who say that diplomacy should be what Israel pursues.
&#8220;Well, how well is diplomacy working so far? Hamas this morning again rejected the cease-fire plan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And, by the way, I have heard from people in Israel they believe there are less than 20 hostages still alive, that perhaps 100 of them are dead. And if that&#8217;s true, and if Hamas knows it, but has been negotiating these past months on the basis of 40 coming out, with more possibly later, and Hamas itself saying they can only find 27, Hamas may have been conducting a deception operation to build up pressure on Iran, knowing full well it could never meet the diplomatic goals of the administration.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;So deterrence failed 320 times last night against Israel,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;If Iran doesn&#8217;t feel the pain, I think it&#8217;s only got to get worse for Israel.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Bolton says Biden is an &#039;embarrassment&#039; to US for urging Israelis not to retaliate against Iran" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/X-I0DY1VXGE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Bolton: Biden ‘An Embarrassment To The U.S.’; Israel Must Hit Iran Or Attacks Will Get Worse

Executive

Global Politics

Israel

Politics

Fox News host Tucker Carlson delivered six key questions on Ukraine — and the ongoing war with Russia — to a number of GOP candidates who have either declared a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination or are likely to do so.
Carlson explained in a video tweeted on Monday that he had been largely impressed with the answers — save for name-dropping a couple of candidates who had not answered the questions at all — and that they had not been in line with the narrative most often heard from prominent Republican leaders like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We asked every potential 2024 GOP presidential candidate to answer six key questions on the war in Ukraine. As promised, their full responses are below. <a href="https://t.co/tjcM4w54cR">pic.twitter.com/tjcM4w54cR</a>
&mdash; Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1635442071073955841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Carlson began by listing the questions he had asked, saying that he had only thrown them out there because legacy media outlets appeared disinterested in pursuing any avenue that did not end with more money going to Ukraine.
<ol>
<li>Is opposing Russia in Ukraine a vital strategic interest for America?</li>
<li>What&#8217;s our objective in Ukraine and how will we know we&#8217;ve achieved it?</li>
<li>What is the limit of money and weapons you&#8217;d be willing to send to Zelensky?</li>
<li>Should the United States support regime change in Russia?</li>
<li>Have U.S. sanctions been effective?</li>
<li>Does the United States face the possibility of nuclear war with Russia?</li>
</ol>
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton — whom Carlson had identified as a potential 2024 hopeful — informed the show that he was busy with other things and could not take the time to respond.
&#8220;Most of the rest of them did get back to us, and we are grateful that they did,&#8221; Carlson continued, adding, &#8220;In general, the answers were fascinating, some of them were so thoughtful and so smart they give you hope for the Republican Party. With only a few exceptions, their answers bore no resemblance at all to the statements you see every day from Mitch McConnell and various Republican committee chairmen in Congress.&#8221;
Carlson went on to say that Republicans in Congress were more likely to be &#8220;committed neocons&#8221; and thus more likely to support funding Ukraine&#8217;s ongoing war than some of the Republicans who are or may be running for president in 2024.
What followed was a preview of the responses from every potential contender – and then a Twitter thread including their complete responses.
Former President Donald Trump, after claiming that Russia would not have attacked Ukraine if he had been in the White House, said that he would demand that Europe pick up a more equitable share in the cost.
&#8220;Start by telling Europe that they must pay at least equal to what the U.S. is paying to help Ukraine,&#8221; he said in part. &#8220;They must also pay us, retroactively, the difference. At a staggering 125 Billion Dollars, we are paying 4 to 5 times more, and this fight is far more important for Europe than it is for the U.S.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Florida Governor @RonDeSantisFL answers our Ukraine questionnaire:
“While the U.S. has many vital national interests – securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural,…
&mdash; Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1635446265692532738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet declared a run for the presidency, also weighed in on the issue.
DeSantis, a Navy veteran himself, criticized the Biden administration for failing to define an objective and committing American taxpayers to footing a seemingly endless bill.
&#8220;Without question, peace should be the objective. The U.S. should not provide assistance that could require the deployment of American troops or enable Ukraine to engage in offensive operations beyond its borders,&#8221; DeSantis said, warning against providing aid that could easily be seen as an escalation against Russia. &#8220;F-16s and long-range missiles should therefore be off the table. These moves would risk explicitly drawing the United States into the conflict and drawing us closer to a hot war between the world’s two largest nuclear powers. That risk is unacceptable.&#8221;
Former Vice President Mike Pence said that &#8220;victory&#8221; would be a free and peaceful Ukraine — and suggested that Russia&#8217;s posturing with regard to the nuclear threat was just that.
&#8220;Putin is still &#8216;the small and bullying leader of Russia,&#8217; his talk of nuclear war is a bullying tactic that he used at the start of the invasion. But Putin should know the United States will not be bullied. This administration has not led with strength on the world stage, but America is still a nation that believes peace comes through strength,&#8221; Pence explained.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
2024 GOP Presidential Candidate <a href="https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VivekGRamaswamy</a> answers our Ukraine questionnaire (1/3)
Is opposing Russia in Ukraine a vital American national strategic interest?
“No, it is not “vital.” Rather, this is a stark reminder of what is a vital American national strategic interest:…
&mdash; Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href="https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1635447488718028800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vivek Ramaswamy, who has declared his candidacy, noted that the war was not a &#8220;vital&#8221; interest — pointing out the fact that the wane of American energy independence under President Joe Biden had created a situation that made it advantageous for Russia to invade Ukraine.
&#8220;This is a stark reminder of what is a vital American national strategic interest: national energy independence. This war is a symptom of America’s lack of self sufficiency. Putin is a tyrant and started this needless war, but he did so because we created incentives that tipped the balance of his decision-making in favor of invading: if he knows the West relies on him to provide oil and gas (because the U.S. and Western Europe have self-inflicted limitations on their own ability or willingness to produce), then Putin is in a stronger position–and that led him to think he could win,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The more America is reliant on foreign energy and oil, the less leverage we have with petro dictators.&#8221;
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley responded to all of Carlson&#8217;s questions in a press release sent out Tuesday:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
During his Ukraine survey of 2024 candidates, Tucker Carlson said yesterday that most of the contenders responded but &quot;Nikki Haley ignored us.&quot;
Ambassador <a href="https://twitter.com/NikkiHaley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NikkiHaley</a> released the following answers to those questions today: <a href="https://t.co/klJo4E8XCR">pic.twitter.com/klJo4E8XCR</a>
&mdash; Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) <a href="https://twitter.com/PhilipWegmann/status/1635681800746856449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Carlson also provided the full answers he received from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Carlson noted that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu did not respond to the questions.

Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson Has 6 Questions For Potential 2024 GOP Candidates On Ukraine: Here’s Who Responded

Tucker Carlson Has 6 Questions For Potential GOP Candidates On Ukraine: Here's Who Responded

2024 Primaries

Nikki Haley

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton revealed Monday he may run for president in 2024 to spoil Donald Trump&#8217;s reelection bid.
Setting the stage for the entry of Trump&#8217;s first rival in the Republican primary contest, Bolton took aim at his former boss for suggesting over the weekend that parts of the U.S. Constitution should be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/musk-fires-back-at-trump-for-suggesting-terminating-parts-of-u-s-constitution-over-twitter-files-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terminated to overturn his 2020 election</a> defeat during an interview on NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet the Press.&#8221;
If no other potential Republican candidates make &#8220;Shermanesque statements&#8221; in response to what Trump said, Bolton declared, &#8220;I’m going to seriously consider getting in.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: Fmr. Nat’l Security Adviser John Bolton is considering a 2024 presidential run if it would prevent fmr. President Trump from taking office again. 
Bolton: “You can’t simply say, ‘I support the Constitution.’ You have to say, ‘I would oppose people who undercut it.’” <a href="https://t.co/Twy8pluMYT">pic.twitter.com/Twy8pluMYT</a>
&mdash; Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1599876132559544337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bolton, known for his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-ill-consider-john-bolton-secretary-state-aaron-bandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hawkish foreign policy views</a>, served roles in the Reagan administration and as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. He later worked as Trump&#8217;s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019, when Trump forced Bolton out <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/us/politics/john-bolton-national-security-adviser-trump.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amid foreign policy disputes</a>.
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During the summer before the 2020 contest, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-john-bolton-interview-abc-news-martha-raddatz/story?id=71287825" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bolton told ABC News</a> he would not vote for Trump, claiming Trump was not fit for office, and stated he would &#8220;figure out a conservative Republican to write in.&#8221; Trump has been harsh on Bolton too, saying Bolton was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/john-bolton-trump-national-security-martial-law-report-election-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;one of the dumbest people in Washington&#8221;</a> after Bolton criticized Trump for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/us/politics/trump-sidney-powell-voter-fraud.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly considering</a> martial law to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-trump-launches-third-bid-for-white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">formally announced</a> his 2024 campaign last month, is facing widespread backlash for his post on Truth Social on Saturday, reacting to the release of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reacts-to-hunter-biden-twitter-files-widespread-fraud-in-2020-leaves-only-two-options" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“The Twitter Files” by saying</a>, “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” He later <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/05/trump-terminate-constitution-00072230" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied making the suggestion</a>, but as of press time has not <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109449803240069864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deleted the initial post</a>.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD) told reporters on Monday he disagrees with Trump&#8217;s statement and said the comments present a &#8220;golden opportunity&#8221; for potential challengers, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3762616-thune-trump-call-to-terminate-constitution-a-golden-opportunity-for-2024-rivals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to The Hill</a>.
At least one Republican who has <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/chris-christie-says-considering-2024-bid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entertained a 2024 run</a>, former Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ), has spoken out against Trump for the suggestion. &#8220;It should not be hard to say that the 2020 election is over,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hiTPKe-bTo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said on ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; on Sunday</a>.
“I think to be a presidential candidate you can’t just say, &#8216;I support the Constitution.&#8217; You have to say, &#8216;I would oppose people who would undercut it,'&#8221; Bolton said in his interview with NBC.

President Trump Holds A Cabinet Meeting At The White House

John Bolton Says He May Run Against Trump In 2024

2024 Election

Elections

After casually admitting on CNN that he had helped plan foreign coups d’etat Tuesday night, former National Security Adviser John Bolton blasted critics of his remarks as &#8220;snowflakes&#8221; who simply &#8220;don&#8217;t understand what you need to do to protect&#8221; the American people and the country&#8217;s interests.
Bolton, who most recently served as an adviser under President Donald J. Trump, made his comments during an appearance on Newsmax&#8217;s &#8220;John Bachman Now&#8221; on Thursday afternoon after anchor Bianca de la Garza asked him about the controversy created by his comments.
&#8220;Ambassador, I do have to ask you also — your comment yesterday on CNN about coups and orchestrating them,&#8221; de la Garza said. &#8220;It’s getting a lot of play, as you know. What would you like to say to that? Obviously, the U.S. is a world superpower, and were you surprised that some of the pickup there was about your talk, you know obviously, you&#8217;ve written a lot about Venezuela in your book?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I think there are a lot of snowflakes out there that don&#8217;t understand what you need to do to protect the United States,&#8221; Bolton shot back.
In his 2020 memoir, &#8220;The Room Where It Happened,&#8221; Bolton <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/06/24/boltons-book-reveals-a-botched-bureaucratic-process-on-venezuela/">claimed</a> that the U.S. allegedly failed to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro due to a series of mistakes made by Trump and his administration.
Bolton refused to go into detail regarding that story but he did send a pointed criticism of American presidents unwilling to partake in heavy-handed tactics overseas.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to get into specifics,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I did write about Venezuela in my memoir, and I think that any president that&#8217;s not willing to do what it takes to protect the interests of the American people needs to have some counseling.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="NEW: John Bolton reacts to backlash after admitting he &#039;helped plan coups&#039; in other countries" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zNAVuThy70?start=227&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
On Tuesday, Bolton <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-bolton-casually-admits-hes-planned-coups-before">joined</a> CNN&#8217;s “The Lead” to discuss the ongoing January 6 Committee hearings, but Bolton took affront to anchor Jake Tapper&#8217;s claim that &#8220;one doesn&#8217;t have to be brilliant&#8221; in order to plan a coup.
“I think it’s also important to understand, while nothing Donald Trump did after the election in connection with the lie about the election fraud, none of it is defensible. None of it is defensible,” Bolton said to Tapper during the interview. “It’s also a mistake, as some people have said, including on the committee, that somehow this was a carefully planned coup d’etat aimed at the Constitution. That’s not the way Donald Trump does things.”
Bolton also claimed that the January 6 riot was not necessarily planned nor an assault on the American form of government.
“He’s — to use a ‘Star Wars’ metaphor — a disturbance in the force,” Bolton continued. “It’s not an attack on our democracy. It’s Donald Trump looking out for Donald Trump. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.”
“I don’t know that I agree with you, to be fair with all due respect,&#8221; Tapper rebutted. &#8220;One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.&#8221;
“I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work,” Bolton replied. “And that’s not what he did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another.”
The exchange can be seen here:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, casually admitting that he&#39;s helped plan coups d&#39;etat &#8230; <a href="https://t.co/GsMdsrZp6H">pic.twitter.com/GsMdsrZp6H</a>
&mdash; Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/VAKruta/status/1547029931611377667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Virginia Kruta contributed to this report.

John Bolton Blasts Coup Critics As ‘Snowflakes’ Who ‘Don’t Understand’ What It Takes To Defend U.S.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton Blasts Coup Critics As 'Snowflakes' Who 'Don't Understand' What It Takes To Defend U.S.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton admitted during a Tuesday CNN interview that he had helped to plan coups d&#8217;etat in the past.
Bolton joined &#8220;The Lead&#8221; anchor Jake Tapper to discuss the ongoing January 6 Committee hearings, and the two appeared to be at odds over whether the riot that unfolded that day on Capitol Hill had been the result of a carefully planned coup attempt or simply happenstance.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Former National Security Adviser John Bolton, casually admitting that he&#39;s helped plan coups d&#39;etat &#8230; <a href="https://t.co/GsMdsrZp6H">pic.twitter.com/GsMdsrZp6H</a>
&mdash; Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) <a href="https://twitter.com/VAKruta/status/1547029931611377667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bolton argued that former President Donald Trump&#8217;s actions — particularly after he lost the 2020 presidential election — had certainly been &#8220;indefensible,&#8221; but that he didn&#8217;t believe the riot had been the culmination of careful planning.
&#8220;I think it’s also important to understand, while nothing Donald Trump did after the election in connection with the lie about the election fraud, none of it is defensible. None of it is defensible,&#8221; Bolton began. &#8220;It’s also a mistake, as some people have said, including on the committee, that somehow this was a carefully planned coup d’etat aimed at the Constitution. That’s not the way Donald Trump does things.&#8221;
Bolton went on to describe Trump&#8217;s approach as more &#8220;rambling&#8221; from one idea to the next, making new plans in real time as the old ones fell apart.
&#8220;He’s — to use a &#8216;Star Wars&#8217; metaphor — a disturbance in the force,&#8221; Bolton continued, arguing that Trump had simply been looking out for his own interests and the riot had just happened. &#8220;It’s not an attack on our democracy. It’s Donald Trump looking out for Donald Trump. It’s a once in a lifetime occurrence.&#8221;
&#8220;I don’t know that I agree with you, to be fair with all due respect. One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup,&#8221; Tapper argued.
&#8220;I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work,&#8221; Bolton replied. &#8220;And that’s not what he did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another.&#8221;
Bolton said that while he agreed that Trump had encouraged the rioters to move toward the Capitol, it had not been a well-thought-out plot to overthrow the Constitution.
&#8220;And if you don’t believe that, you’re going to overreact,&#8221; Bolton concluded. &#8220;And I think that’s a real risk for the committee, which has done a lot of good work &#8230; It is invariably the case that when you go too far, trying to prove your case, you undermine it. And I think you got to give credit to the intelligence of the American people to listen to the witnesses and let them come to the conclusion.&#8221;

Former White House Nat’l Security Adviser John Bolton Speaks At Duke University Forum

John Bolton Casually Admits He’s Planned Coups Before

John Bolton Admits On CNN That He's Planned Coups Before

Jake Tapper

January 6 Committee

At least two Iranians in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF), an elite Iranian military group that is also a designated terrorist organization, have allegedly been plotting to assassinate former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, according to a new report.
Democrat President Joe Biden&#8217;s Department of Justice &#8220;possesses indictable evidence against the Iranians but &#8230; Biden administration officials are resisting publicly indicting the men for fear that it could derail their drive for a nuclear deal with Iran, currently nearing completion in negotiations in Vienna, Austria,&#8221; the Washington Examiner <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/iran-plotting-assassination-of-john-bolton-others-even-while-biden-negotiates-nuclear-deal">reported</a>. &#8220;It is possible but unlikely that there are sealed indictments against the men, but the DOJ source said the seriousness of the conspiracy and the evidence warranted public indictment without delay. Sealed indictments would be unusual and probably unnecessary in this case, as they are usually used to prevent the target evading justice.&#8221;
The report said that the Iranian military was involved in &#8220;significant &#8230; reconnaissance activity&#8221; in the alleged plot, which involved an effort to recruit an assassin on U.S. soil.
The report said that similar threats have been made against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump officials who worked on Iran. The report said that threats against Bolton and Pompeo &#8220;are continuing, specific, and highly credible.&#8221;
The report added:
<blockquote>The intelligence community became aware of the plot at an early stage, and it prompted high-level concern and a full-time Secret Service protective detail being assigned to Bolton earlier this year or late in 2021. Significant FBI assets were also deployed to disrupt the plot and assist in protecting Bolton. &#8230; As the Washington Examiner reported in December 2020, Congress quietly extended Pompeo&#8217;s Diplomatic Security Service protective detail beyond his government tenure in response to these Iranian threats. That protective detail continues and has a high level of enhanced capability.</blockquote>
Biden&#8217;s DOJ claimed in a statement to the Examiner that &#8220;it would be categorically false to claim that these kinds of policy considerations would drive such a charging decision.&#8221;
A 2017 Politico report alleged that Democrat President Barack Obama ended a major federal law enforcement operation that targeted the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group Hezbollah because it wanted to secure a nuclear deal with Iran.
The operation, named Project Cassandra, launched in 2008 after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had gathered a substantial amount of evidence that Hezbollah had grown from a “military and political organization” that operated solely in the Middle East into an international criminal enterprise that was earning approximately $1 billion per year from “drug and weapons trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/interactives/2017/obama-hezbollah-drug-trafficking-investigation/">Politico</a> reported.
Key <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shock-obama-helped-hezbollah-secure-bogus-iran-ryan-saavedra">takeaways</a> from the report included:
<ul>
<li>Over a period of eight years, federal agents used a top-secret facility in Virginia to conduct undercover operations that aimed to chart Hezbollah’s massive criminal enterprise. The operation relied on assistance provided by 30 U.S. and foreign security agencies.</li>
<li>Project Cassandra tracked cocaine shipments from Latin America to West Africa where the shipments were then routed to Europe and the Middle East. The money from Hezbollah’s criminal activity was laundered by “buying American used cars and shipping them to Africa.”</li>
<li>Agents indicated that the origins of the criminal conspiracy were in the “innermost circle of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.”</li>
<li>The Obama administration intentionally sabotaged Project Cassandra by throwing “increasingly insurmountable series of roadblocks in its way.”</li>
<li>Obama’s Justice Department and State Department refused to help Project Cassandra with a variety of necessary law enforcement actions including filing criminal charges against Hezbollah’s top players and “lur[ing] high-value targets to countries where they could be arrested.”</li>
<li>By refusing to help, the Obama administration allowed Hezbollah to traffic multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the U.S. and allowed hundreds of millions of dollars to flow from the U.S. to the terrorist organization.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/24799/bombshell-report-obama-colluded-putin-release-ben-shapiro" rel="noopener">Obama colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin</a> to release Lebanese terrorist Ali Fayad who was responsible for the deaths of Americans.</li>
<li>As a result of the Obama administration’s decision, “some Hezbollah operatives were not pursued via arrests, indictments, or Treasury designations that would have blocked their access to U.S. financial markets, according to Bauer, a career Treasury official, who served briefly in its Office of Terrorist Financing as a senior policy adviser for Iran before leaving in late 2015.”</li>
<li>Obama’s decision derailed U.S. intelligence efforts to track cocaine shipments from “various Hezbollah-affiliated networks coming into the United States, especially from Venezuela.”</li>
<li>“At the same time, DEA agents in West Africa were investigating the suspicious flow of thousands of used cars from U.S. dealerships to car parks in Benin.”</li>
<li>The DEA uncovered one of the biggest drug smuggling and money laundering networks they had ever seen led by Lebanese businessman Ayman Joumaa.</li>
<li>“Joumaa’s network rang alarm bells in Washington when agents discovered he was working with Mexico’s brutal Los Zetas cartel to move multi-ton loads of cocaine directly into the United States, and washing $200 million a month in criminal proceeds with the help of 300 or so used car dealerships. The network would funnel huge amounts of money to the dealerships to purchase used cars, which would then be shipped to Benin, on Africa’s west coast.”</li>
<li>David Asher, who helped establish and oversee Project Cassandra as a Defense Department illicit finance analyst, believed that “the task force wasn’t overhyping the threat posed by Hezbollah’s criminal activities, it was significantly underestimating it. Because Hezbollah’s drug trafficking was bankrolling its Islamic Jihad military wing and joint ventures with Iran, as Asher would later testify before Congress, it represented ‘the largest material support scheme for terrorism operations’ the world had ever seen.”</li>
<li>The dirty money from the drug proceeds was laundered and wired to “300 U.S. used-car dealers to buy and ship thousands of vehicles to West Africa.”</li>
<li>The car dealerships in western Africa raked in billions of dollars in profit that was then sent to banks that were friendly toward Hezbollah.</li>
<li>Federal agents working on Project Cassandra “were most alarmed, by far, by the havoc Hezbollah and Iran were wreaking in Latin America” where cocaine shipments to the U.S. increased by 500%.</li>
<li>Under the Obama administration, the “used-car money-laundering scheme was flourishing in the United States and Africa. The number of vehicles being shipped to Benin had more than doubled from December 2011 to 2014, he wrote, with one dealership alone receiving more than $4 million.</li>
</ul>
Jack Kelly, the veteran DEA supervisory agent who created and led the task force, said, “The FBI and other parts of the USG [U.S. government] provide a little or no assistance during our investigations. The USG lack of action on this issue has allowed [Hezbollah] to become one of the biggest transnational organized crime groups in the world.”
Jack Riley, top DEA special agent who helped run the drug agency under the Obama administration, said, “[Hezbollah’s criminal operations] provide a revenue and weapons stream for an international terrorist organization responsible for devastating terror attacks around the world.”

American Conservative Union Holds Annual CPAC Conference In Orlando

Iran Plots To Assassinate Ex-Trump Official, Biden Admin Resisting Public Indictments Due To Iran Deal Hopes: Report

assassination

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had &#8220;undoubtedly&#8221; been looking forward to former President Donald Trump serving a second term — but he said that President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration was effectively yielding the same results.
The former Ambassador to the United Nations sat down with MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell, and he told her that he believed the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/biden-ready-to-respond-to-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-with-unity-clarity-and-conviction-press-conference/">current situation</a> would ultimately translate to &#8220;a victory for Russia.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;Putin was undoubtedly waiting for a second Trump term, but he is getting effectively almost what he would have expected then. This is going to be a victory for Russia,&quot; predicted former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton. <a href="https://t.co/LtA8YKXPsE">pic.twitter.com/LtA8YKXPsE</a>
&mdash; Mediaite (@Mediaite) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mediaite/status/1496195601771421707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Bolton began by saying that the Biden administration had repeatedly stressed that threats of sanctions were intended to be a deterrent to prevent Putin from doing exactly what he has done over the past several days — and he argued that a final decision from Putin to invade was a clear indication that Biden&#8217;s strategy had failed.
&#8220;If deterrent has failed, the answer is to come up with new steps, certainly to bring the guillotine down on all the sanctions they’ve been contemplating and take additional steps if they want to stop any further military action. Their admission they’re engaged in gradual escalation is a further admission of a disastrous failure of policy,&#8221; Bolton explained.
Mitchell offered her own take, arguing that it was Trump who had opened the door for such an escalation.
&#8220;Putin was undoubtedly waiting for a second Trump term, but he is getting effectively almost what he would have expected then. This is going to be a victory for Russia,&#8221; Bolton said.
&#8220;You think that what — the Biden administration is doing, rallying the NATO allies, getting — I mean &#8230;&#8221; Mitchell pushed back, but Bolton interrupted.
&#8220;It has failed,&#8221; he said.
&#8220;Ambassador —&#8221; Mitchell tried again.
&#8220;The president says it has failed,&#8221; Bolton continued.
&#8220;It has not failed to rally the united — the NATO allies, they have never been stronger. I was just in Munich and I can tell you there was no space among the allies,&#8221; Mitchell pressed again.
&#8220;There’s plenty of space,&#8221; Bolton objected. &#8220;Mario Draghi, the Prime Minister of Italy, said Friday if the E.U. had to the impose economic sanctions, he hoped it would not include energy sector. That’s a huge hole in NATO unity.&#8221;
Bolton went on to suggest that despite the Tuesday announcement from Germany — indicating a <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/just-call-it-an-invasion-cnns-brianna-keilar-corners-biden-official-on-russias-latest-move/">refusal to certify</a> the Nord Stream 2 pipeline — the resolve to maintain that position might crumble in the coming weeks or months. &#8220;And as I said, what Scholz has done is only a paper maneuver that will last a couple months. We’ll see how long that lasts,&#8221; he said.
Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald responded to Bolton’s interview in a <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1496218729973272583">tweet</a>, saying, “So funny that MSNBC put John Bolton on and @mitchellreports was horrified to hear him say that Putin got everything he wanted because of Biden and that Biden has failed to confront Russia. Putin always wins. He always has everyone right where he wants them.”
Quite a few people responded to the interview by voicing their displeasure over Mitchell even bringing Bolton on as a guest.
&#8220;I don’t want to hear John Bolton’s opinion on what we should be doing with Russia or anything for that matter,&#8221; Richard Ojeda II <a href="https://twitter.com/Ojeda4America/status/1496175924911484934">said</a>.
&#8220;MSNBC&#8217;s willingness to keep booking a discredited clown like John Bolton, as if he were a respectable foreign policy expert, is a reminder that the media is only in this for the ratings – and not to inform you about anything. Everything about the media needs to change,&#8221; the Palmer Report <a href="https://twitter.com/PalmerReport/status/1496177550397255688">added</a>.
&#8220;The combination of John Bolton on MSNBC talking about Biden&#8217;s &#8216;failing&#8217; strategy and Andrea Mitchell as moderator sitting there dumbfoundedly silent as he says this, is infuriating,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/duty2warn/status/1496172143213793284">came from</a> Duty to Warn.
The Daily Wire’s first original film, Shut In, has made its cinematic debut, being met with rave reviews. The Daily Wire is building an alternative to the leftist entertainment industry, one gripping movie at a time. Join us in this mission and stream Shut In today by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe-shutin?utm_campaign=shutin&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_content=subscribe_shutin&amp;utm_talent=dailywire" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe-shutin?utm_campaign%3Dshutin%26utm_medium%3Deditorial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_content%3Dsubscribe_shutin%26utm_talent%3Ddailywire&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1644699149485000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0hSL9sbxEl3fLS6INjonzw">becoming a Daily Wire member</a>.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton Delivers Keynote Address At CSIS Forum

‘A Victory For Russia’: John Bolton Claims Putin Was Waiting For A Second Trump Term — And Got The Same Results From Biden

Russia

Ukraine

Vladimir Putin

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton on Sunday described as &#8220;baseless&#8221; the claims from President Donald Trump and other Republicans that the presidential election was stolen.
Speaking with ABC News host Martha Raddatz regarding the thousands of Trump supporters who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-makes-appearance-at-million-maga-march-in-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">marched</a> in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Bolton said, &#8220;Well, I think it&#8217;s very important for leaders of the Republican Party to explain to our voters, who are not as stupid as the Democrats think, that in fact Trump has lost the election and that his claims of election fraud are baseless.&#8221;
&#8220;The fact is that we&#8217;ve seen litigation in all the key battleground states, and it has failed consistently,&#8221; Bolton continued. &#8220;Right now, the Trump campaign is doing the legal equivalent of pitching pennies. Where are their silver dollars? Where is the evidence?&#8221;
&#8220;I think as every day goes by, it&#8217;s clearer and clearer there isn&#8217;t any evidence. But if the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump&#8217;s misrepresentations, it&#8217;s not surprising that they believe it,&#8221; Bolton added. &#8220;It&#8217;s critical for other Republican leaders to stand up and explain what actually happened. Donald Trump lost what, by any evidence we have so far, was a free and fair election.&#8221;
WATCH:
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NEW: Former National Security Adviser John Bolton urges GOP leadership to &quot;explain to our voters&#8230; that in fact Trump has lost the election and that these claims of election fraud are baseless.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/z6SZ06zbP3">https://t.co/z6SZ06zbP3</a> <a href="https://t.co/GyXya7xYAv">pic.twitter.com/GyXya7xYAv</a>
&mdash; ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1327977748284006400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Asked whether he thinks Republicans will accept a Trump loss, Bolton said, &#8220;Well, I think they&#8217;re getting ready to do it. I’ve said I think this is a character test for the Republican Party.&#8221;
Bolton continued:
<blockquote>I don&#8217;t buy the argument that Donald Trump has hypnotized Republican voters or that they&#8217;re not capable of accepting the truth. This is a myth that&#8217;s being perpetrated that&#8217;s simply not true. But it requires people to explain what happened.
The Trump campaign simply has no evidence. Their basic argument is this was a conspiracy so vast and so successful that there&#8217;s no evidence of it. Now if that&#8217;s true, I really want to know who the people are who pulled this off. We need to hire them at the CIA.
The fact is this is all blue smoke and mirrors. I think people will accept that if they see leaders they respect explain it to them.</blockquote>
Bolton further opined that Trump would not leave office without a fight, saying, &#8220;I do not expect him to go graciously. I do expect him to go. But I think pretty soon we&#8217;ll get the stab in the back theories. We&#8217;ll get the dark conspiracy theories continued. And he will make life as difficult as he can for the incoming Biden administration.&#8221;
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Pressed on how few in the Republican party are coming forward and recognizing Joe Biden as president-elect, John Bolton tells <a href="https://twitter.com/MarthaRaddatz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarthaRaddatz</a> he thinks &quot;they&#39;re getting ready to do it.&quot;
&quot;I think this is a character test for the Republican party.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/YvgK8h7hXA">https://t.co/YvgK8h7hXA</a> <a href="https://t.co/WKjoQr7qwf">pic.twitter.com/WKjoQr7qwf</a>
&mdash; ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/1327978891701522437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Trump later tweeted that Bolton &#8220;was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the &#8216;pleasure&#8217; to work with. A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, &#8216;Gee, let’s go to war.&#8217; Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!&#8221;
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John Bolton was one of the dumbest people in government that I’ve had the “pleasure” to work with. A sullen, dull and quiet guy, he added nothing to National Security except, “Gee, let’s go to war.” Also, illegally released much Classified Information. A real dope!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1328055196904251397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The Trump campaign has filed multiple lawsuits claiming widespread election irregularities. Thus far, none of the alleged irregularities have been shown to be significant enough to alter the outcome of the election, while some of the claims have even been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/election-2020-trump-campaign-lawsuits-explained-11605205969">dismissed</a> by various courts.
This article has been expanded after publication to include additional information.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-opens-investigation-targeting-bolton-over-revealing-classified-info-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">DOJ Opens Investigation Targeting Bolton Over Allegedly Revealing Classified Info, Report Says</a>

Bolton: GOP Claims Of Election Fraud Are ‘Baseless’

2020 Election

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