'Totally irrelevant': John Bolton bashed for feeling ‘perplexed’ about Trump receiving intelligence briefings if he becomes GOP nominee

WASHINGTON, DC: John Bolton, the former National Security Adviser under Donald Trump’s administration, expressed bewilderment regarding reports that the former president would receive intelligence briefings should he become the GOP presidential nominee.

Bolton spoke with MSNBC's Katy Tur and addressed concerns about Trump's handling of classified information during his time in office.

It is expected for major-party candidates to be included in intelligence briefings once they have secured their respective party's nomination.

This practice can facilitate a smoother transition into the White House if the candidate wins the US presidency.

Despite Trump's potential nomination, he is currently facing 40 charges that allege he mishandled classified documents and obstructed the government from retrieving them after leaving the White House.

The files reportedly contained national defense and weapons information, some of which had top-secret markings, according to The Hill.

What did John Bolton say in his interview?

Host Katy Tur asked Bolton, “Why is it a danger to give him access to intelligence?”

Bolton, now the foremost critic of his former boss, responded, “Well, I think Trump demonstrated during his presidency and certainly in the handling of the documents after his presidency that he doesn't pay adequate attention to safeguarding these secrets and the dangers, I think, commonly known of when they get into the wrong hands of not just revealing the information itself, but risking the sources and methods that are used to procure the information.”

“So I'm somewhat perplexed myself that the Biden White House has apparently agreed that he'll get these briefings. I don't think it makes any sense,” he added. “And I think it really puts whatever he is told at risk of being disclosed.”

Tur chimed in with an explanation, saying, “So the Biden administration, according to sources talking to NBC News, has said that the reason they're doing this is because they want to maintain a semblance of normalcy in the campaign. So former President Trump can't paint himself as the victim of politicization.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Bolton remarked.

“I mean, let's go back to the original purpose, really, President Truman had in mind when he first authorized—I'm pretty sure it was Truman—first authorized giving these briefings to presidential candidates. It was to avoid a candidate saying in ignorance something that could impair the national security of the United States,” he explained.

“So it wasn't to satisfy the curiosity of the candidate. It was to protect the overall national interest,” Bolton asserted.

He recalled, “You know, we had a hard time getting Trump to pay attention in many, many days of those briefings. And when he did really pay attention, it was often because he wanted to keep a document or something that from time to time he went on and leaked.”

Bolton claimed, “I mean, I think if you're going to do these briefings, they ought to be done right. So I also disagree with some former intelligence community people who say, well, if he's going to get the briefings, make sure they're pablum, basically, I'm summarizing it.”

“I don't like that, either,” he added. “Either give the briefing the way it should be, or let's just dispense with it and let Trump say whatever he wants.”

Tur mentioned, “So there are voters out there who look at Donald Trump's time as president and say nothing really bad happened,” before asking the former Republican diplomat. “Why do you argue that they should take it seriously?”

“Well, because the people who say that can't possibly know whether it's true or not,” Bolton argued.

“One of the things other governments do is keep a better secret sometimes than we do. So being able to use this information, which they can put into an overall mosaic of what they're getting from other sources, could well benefit them in ways that the public can't possibly know,” he said.

“And I would say, with respect to whatever he showed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that's an ally of the United States.”

“You know, we share a lot of intelligence with our allies. Trump's mistake was doing it on the patio of Mar-a-Lago, where his guests could see it as well,” Bolton noted.

He added, “If you're going to reveal information to an ally, do it strategically, not just for the sake of showing that you know something that the ally or your adversary doesn't.”

“That's the problem with Trump. He can't understand why it is that he should be constrained in talking about the information. So I guess I would say, if the Biden administration is determined to let this happen, I'd impose conditions on the briefings,” he shared.

The former United States Ambassador to the United Nations suggested, “I wouldn't let any advisers in the room with Donald Trump. So if the information does leak out, we know exactly where it came from. And I wouldn't show him or leave him any documents or photographs. I'd just give a verbal briefing that hopefully could minimize the downside risk of him revealing something.”

“If Donald Trump is elected again, what happens to NATO?” Tur asked Bolton.

“Well, I'm very concerned,” Bolton remarked. “I think he's bound and determined to withdraw the United States from NATO. I think the notion that he's somehow using this as a bargaining leverage to get other NATO members to increase their defense spending is wrong.”

He continued, “Thousands of people over decades, myself included as a small part of that, have pushed our allies to spend more on defense so we could strengthen NATO."

"I think Trump uses the failure of some of these allies to spend what they themselves committed to spend 10 years ago, not to strengthen NATO, but to weaken it.”

“I think the risk of withdrawal is very real,” he stated in conclusion.

Internet trolls John Bolton for speaking against former President Donald Trump

People on X skewered the former Trump administration official for speaking his mind and fanning the flames of a nightmare scenario when the MAGA strongman reclaims the Oval Office early next year.

One X user remarked: "Does he remember that Trump was President for 4 years? Bolton is totally irrelevant!!"

Another user said: "When Trump gets back in office, we’re shutting down all your foreign wars."

Another user asked: "Why on earth is John Bolton in the news every few weeks? I don’t understand it."

One X user wrote: "It rarely happens But I agree with John Bolton The White House shouldn't allow Trump to receive Intel briefings bcuz he can't be trusted with classified info."

Finally, this user tweeted: "John Bolton needs to go where McCain is."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.