Sen. Rand Paul has publicly voiced his disapproval of John Bolton as a potential member of Donald Trump’s administration, and on Sunday said he would aim to block the nomination if Trump did give him a position.
"John Bolton doesn't get it," Paul said Sunday on ABC's "This Week."
"He still believes in regime change. He's still a big cheerleader for the Iraq War. John Bolton is so far out of it and has such a naive understanding of the world."
Bolton, who served as interim U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, is being considered for the No. 2 spot at the State Department. He's not a popular pick on either side of the aisle and, his views have been described as "hawkish and at odds with Trump's campaign pitch for less military engagement in the world."
Bolton has called for a regime change in Iran as a long-term solution to help eliminate threats in the Middle East and has argued that the U.S. should step up its level of engagement with Taiwan.
"The president of the United States [will] talk to whomever he wants if he thinks it's in the interest of the United States, and nobody in Beijing gets to dictate who we talk to," Bolton said shortly after Trump's highly contested call to Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen.
He also still supports the decision to invade Iraq.
Paul says "no man is more out of touch with the situation in the Middle East or more dangerous to our national security than Bolton."
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