John Bolton 'always worried' Trump would swipe Teddy Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize from White House

WASHINGTON, DC: Former National Security Advisor John Bolton revealed he “always worried” President Donald Trump would try to make off with a Nobel Peace Prize hanging inside the White House.

Bolton, who was part of Trump’s administration in his first term, was referring to the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Theodore Roosevelt, which is still on display in the Roosevelt Room. According to Bolton, Trump’s fixation on the honor ran so deep that he feared he might literally try to swipe the thing. 

Trump on Maria Corina Machado and her Nobel prize

Trump’s obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize has been well known for years. He was disappointed after last year’s Peace Prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, even as Trump was publicly campaigning for the prize himself.

The latest flare-up came after the US attacked Venezuela and removed President Nicolas Maduro from power. When Trump was asked about the idea of Machado leading the country, he offered a rather dismissive assessment.

“She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect,” he said.

Fast forward to Monday, January 12, on CNN’s 'OutFront', host Erin Burnett rolls a clip of Trump being asked whether he would consider installing Machado as Venezuela’s leader if she handed over her Nobel Peace Prize when the two meet on Thursday.

“Well, I have to speak to her,” the president replied. “I’m gonna have to speak to her. She might be involved in some aspect of it. I will have to speak to her. I think it’s very nice that she wants to come in. And that’s what I understand the reason is… I can’t think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel prize more than me. And I don’t want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars.”

John Bolton claims Trump 'cares less about Venezuela' than he does about the Nobel prize

Burnett pointed out that the Nobel Peace Prize “is not transferable" before turning to Bolton for his reaction.

“Look, it’s always all about Trump,” Bolton said. “He cares less about Venezuela than he does the prize. And by the way, she can give him the medallion and still keep the prize, if that’s what he wants. Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel medallion hangs on the wall of the Roosevelt room in the White House. I’ve always worried Trump would grab that if he can’t get another one. She could probably find a replacement somewhere.”

Roosevelt earned his Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 after helping broker an end to the Russo-Japanese War through the Treaty of Portsmouth, which was signed in New Hampshire the year before. More than a century later, that medal has become a symbolic piece of White House history.

Beyond Trump’s Nobel fixation, Bolton also criticized the way the administration handled Venezuela after the fall of Maduro.

Even though Bolton had supported Trump’s Venezuela operation, he argued that the commander-in-chief botched it by leaving the rest of Maduro’s government intact rather than fully dismantling the regime’s power structure. 

John Bolton sounds alarm on Greenland, NATO

Bolton has also been increasingly vocal about Trump’s foreign-policy musings beyond Venezuela, especially when it comes to Greenland. Earlier this month, he warned that Trump’s repeated talk about taking over Greenland could seriously undermine NATO. It's worth noting that Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

“As for Greenland, every time he mentions this, Trump endangers the NATO alliance,” Bolton said in an interview on CNN’s 'The Source', when asked about the president’s threats to multiple countries following the US operation to remove Maduro.

“And if we were to take military action against Greenland, God forbid, it would be the end of NATO,” he continued. “There are some in the administration who would consider that a twofer, unfortunately.”

Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly floated the idea of acquiring Greenland, arguing that it holds major strategic value for US security.

On Monday, he claimed that America has to act before rival powers do. “If we don't take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland. And I am not going let that happen. I'd love to make a deal with them (Greenland). It's easier. But one way or the other, we're gonna have Greenland…,” Trump said.

He then mocked Greenland’s defenses.

“Greenland, basically, their defence is two dog sledges. Do you know that? You know what their defence is? Two dog sledges. In the meantime, you have Russian destroyers and submarines and Chinese destroyers and submarines all over the place. We’re not going to let that happen. And if it affects NATO, and then it affects NATO, but they need us much more than we need them," he claimed.