John Bolton Says Trump Is Too Dumb to Be a Fascist
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton doesn’t agree that Donald Trump is a “fascist”—but only because he’s not as “capable” as some of history’s greatest villains.During an interview with CNN’s The Source on Tuesday, Bolton pushed back on recent comments made by Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, who said that Trump fit the definition of a fascist.“Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators—he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure,” Kelly, a retired military general, said. “He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”Bolton, in turn, described Trump’s behavior as “troubling” but not thoughtful enough to constitute a legitimate philosophy.“I think it’s a mistake to get into a controversy over whether Trump meets the definition of fascist or not,” Bolton told CNN.“I think his behavior alone is troubling enough,” he continued. “To be a fascist, you have to have a philosophy. Trump’s not capable of that.”Bolton, who also served in Ronald Reagan’s administration, then went on to drag Trump’s mental fortitude, claiming that the MAGA leader could never flesh out his movement like Hitler due to his alleged inability to finish a book.“You know, Adolf Hitler wrote a profoundly troubling book called Mein Kampf, ‘My Struggle.’ Donald Trump couldn’t even read his way all the way through that book, let alone write something like it,” Bolton argued.“I’m not trying to understate the dangers of a Trump presidency. I think it’s important to focus on the dangers themselves.”The Republican presidential nominee and his former foreign policy hawk have publicly butted heads several times since Bolton was ousted from Trump’s administration in 2019. Over the last year, the ex-ally has relentlessly grilled Trump for wanting to pull out of NATO. In February, Bolton claimed that Trump had completely fabricated a story in which he allegedly told a European leader that he’d allow Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies if they didn’t “pay” their “bills.”
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton doesn’t agree that Donald Trump is a “fascist”—but only because he’s not as “capable” as some of history’s greatest villains.
During an interview with CNN’s The Source on Tuesday, Bolton pushed back on recent comments made by Trump’s former chief of staff John Kelly, who said that Trump fit the definition of a fascist.
“Certainly the former president is in the far-right area, he’s certainly an authoritarian, admires people who are dictators—he has said that. So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure,” Kelly, a retired military general, said. “He certainly prefers the dictator approach to government.”
Bolton, in turn, described Trump’s behavior as “troubling” but not thoughtful enough to constitute a legitimate philosophy.
“I think it’s a mistake to get into a controversy over whether Trump meets the definition of fascist or not,” Bolton told CNN.
“I think his behavior alone is troubling enough,” he continued. “To be a fascist, you have to have a philosophy. Trump’s not capable of that.”
Bolton, who also served in Ronald Reagan’s administration, then went on to drag Trump’s mental fortitude, claiming that the MAGA leader could never flesh out his movement like Hitler due to his alleged inability to finish a book.
“You know, Adolf Hitler wrote a profoundly troubling book called Mein Kampf, ‘My Struggle.’ Donald Trump couldn’t even read his way all the way through that book, let alone write something like it,” Bolton argued.
“I’m not trying to understate the dangers of a Trump presidency. I think it’s important to focus on the dangers themselves.”
The Republican presidential nominee and his former foreign policy hawk have publicly butted heads several times since Bolton was ousted from Trump’s administration in 2019. Over the last year, the ex-ally has relentlessly grilled Trump for wanting to pull out of NATO. In February, Bolton claimed that Trump had completely fabricated a story in which he allegedly told a European leader that he’d allow Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies if they didn’t “pay” their “bills.”
