President Donald Trump trashed his former national security adviser John Bolton Wednesday morning for writing a “nasty & untrue book” as the Senate debates whether to call Bolton as a witness in the president’s impeachment trial.
In a pair of tweets, Trump said he named Bolton as his top security aide even though others told him “don’t do it, sir,“ and fired Bolton because “if I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now.“ Trump did not mention Bolton by name in the tweets.
The president said Bolton’s forthcoming book, which reportedly says that Trump told Bolton he was withholding security aid from Ukraine until the country offered help with investigations related to former Vice President Joe Biden, contains “All Classified National Security” a sign he could try and block Bolton from testifying before the Senate.
Senators are expected to vote on Friday whether to hear testimony from witnesses in the impeachment trial. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pushed for a swift trial with no testimony, but some moderate Republicans have said they want to hear from witnesses -- calls that grew louder after the New York Times reported Sunday on the contents of Bolton’s book.