Philosophically to the right of former Vice President Dick Cheney and the Neocons, a super-hawk, John Bolton is an evil purveyor of death and destruction. From Iran to Venezuela, it is claimed he never found an adversary he didn’t want to bomb. Previously, he was a key proponent supporting the invasion of Iraq. Like many hawks, he studiously avoided engaging in combat himself. While supporting the War in Vietnam, he personally chose the safe route by joining the Maryland Air National Guard. Bolton’s draft number did come up, and The Daily Beast wrote an article about those with the same lottery who died in Vietnam. Bolton famously wrote, “I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy.” Better known as a “Chicken Hawk,” it is one thing to advocate for war when others do the dying, and another when it’s you getting up close and personal.
Comes now before the public, John Bolton’s new book, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. Given his background, why then, should liberals take Bolton seriously when he speaks out about the inappropriate, possibly illegal, actions of Trump and his administration? The answer is one word, consistency. Not only has his message been consistent while serving three prior Republican presidents (Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43), it is consistent with what many other senior (and some junior) officials have reported about the recklessness and sheer incompetence of Trump.
Even before the election it was clear that Trump was unfit to hold the office of President of the United States. However, with millions of voters conned, and those voters who just hated Clinton, he won the anachronistic electoral college. Initially, there was a glimmer of hope that true professionals in their respective fields would be able to steer the ship of state through what promised to be a turbulent time. They became known as “the axis of adults” and included the likes of GEN Jim Mattis, Lt. GEN. H.R. McMaster, Rex Tillerson, GEN John Kelly and other capable officials.
Then too, there were the career civil servants who served under multiple administrations, both Republican and Democratic. These competent specialists are the bedrock that maintain balance during transitions and ensure all of the mundane, but important, tasks are accomplished that keep the government functioning. Their critical efforts keep both domestic citizens content and foreign observers assured the U.S. remains on course as a steadying influence on the world stage.
In January, 2017, with the inauguration of Trump, all of that changed. Steeped in conspiracy theories, with minimal factual basis, the concept of the Deep State emerged. Growing in volume, soon the conspiracies became a driving force in Washington with the flames of discontent provoked by Trump himself. Suddenly, apolitical employees in multiple agencies were seen as suspect, and some overt enemies. The concept of loyalty took a dramatic shift as Trump demanded that loyalty to him personally took precedence over the oath of office administered to all senior officials. That oath specified that loyalty was to the U.S. Constitution, not any individual.
Despite substantial misgivings by those in the axis of adults, they assumed their responsibilities with a sense that the foundations of their institutions were strong enough. They thought they could make a difference, if only they could feed the beast long enough. For many, their tenure was short-lived and critical positions rotated like a game of musical chairs. It was not that they didn’t try. Consider the Pentagon briefing in the summer of 2017, designed to bring Trump up to speed on international affairs. Primarily they focused on the importance of alliances and the rationale for our foreign military posturing. As detailed the book, A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America, by Pulitzer Prize winning authors, Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, Trump went into a tirade berating the top military leaders, calling them a “bunch of dopes and babies.” Upon Trump’s departure, that prompted then- Secretary of State Tillerson to state, “What a fucking moron.” He didn’t last long. Carefully researched, Rucker and Leonnig documented many similar events as reported from a myriad of observers.
General James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence, in his book, Facts and Fears, detailed his experience in having the intelligence community (IC) assessments undercut by Trump’s tweets and comments. Soon, he would be seen as an enemy and an accomplice of the deep state. In fact, the entire intelligence community was viewed by Trump with a jaundiced eye. A tragedy in the making, Trump chose conspiracies over the apolitical, fact-based threat assessments of the IC.
More books emerged. One of the first was Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolfe. He was allowed ridiculous access to observe the development of the Trump White House functioning. Sensationalistic by nature, it painted a picture of a seriously psychologically flawed POTUS presiding over a reign of chaos. Wolfe was early and his reporting devastating. It raised the question, “Can it be this bad?” The answer was, no―in reality, it was far worse!
Soon, other more respected journalists joined the proverbial choir. Based on many interviews, Fear: Trump in the White House, by Watergate legend Bob Woodward, excoriated the administration. That was supported by hundreds of hours of recorded consultations and contemporaneous notes. The title, Fear, was an accurate descriptor of the environment. Veteran reporters Michael Isikoff and David Corn wrote Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump. Accurate when published, it takes on new meaning with Bolton’s observations about Putin playing Trump “like a fiddle.”
There were more books written by those with general access to the goings-on. Trump’s Apprentice darling, Omarosa Manigault, was escorted out of the building. Then, disenchanted, she wrote Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House. David Frum, a long-time conservative pundit wrote Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. After working directly on the staff, Cliff Sims authored, Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House.
Not all of the damning statements have originated in tell-all books. There are many other commentaries by senior officials that address Trump’s incompetence. Among them include those of former Secretary of Defense, GEN James Mattis who stated that Trump “was a threat to the Constitution.” He was supported by former Secretary of Homeland Security and White House Chief of Staff, General John Kelly who stated, “No President is ever a dictator or king.”. Both Mattis and Kelly had direct knowledge of Trump’s reckless proclivities. Concerned with Trump’s behavior, in October, 2019, Admiral William McRaven, the former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), wrote an unprecedented and scathing op-ed piece published in the New York Times. It was titled, “Our Republic is under Attack by the President.” When in JSOC, McRaven was credited with overseeing Neptune Spear, the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Other senior special operations commanders, including General Stan McChrystal, also published their concerns about Trump’s fitness for office. McChrystal called Trump “dishonest” and “immoral.” Certainly true. Admiral Eric Olson, another former USSOCOM commander, joined former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, and many other dignitaries in signing The Iranian Primer, a contemptuous rebuke of Trump’s foreign policy.
Most Americans are well aware of the charges of Russian collusion during the 2016 election and the Mueller Investigational that intentionally was subverted by Attorney General Barr. They also should know that Trump openly requested Russian support when at a campaign rally he stated, “Russia, if you are listening….” and then the next morning Russian agents hacked the DNC server. What Bolton describes in this book is far worse. On page 301, second paragraph, Bolton asserts that Trump directly enlisted the aid of President Xi Jinping of China in his reelection bid. The text states that Trump was, “alluding to China’s economic capability to affect ongoing campaigns, pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win.” Impervious to shame, Trump openly commits repeated offenses.
The point is not that I trust John Bolton, I don’t. It is that what he describes in The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, comports exceedingly well with the litany of tribulations conveyed by all of the other authors and commenters. Different, of course, is his position as National Security Advisor thus giving him direct access to the events about which he writes and he is known to be an inveterate note-taker. It is your ability to cross-reference many of the incidents that lends power and credence to Bolton’s other allegations. Interestingly, Bolton indicates that the White House censors demanded that he remove many of the exact quotes. Accommodating them, he judiciously circumvented those situations, but described the circumstances in considerable detail.
Very controversially, Bolton did not testify during Trump’s impeachment proceedings. He was aware of the quid pro quo phone conversation during which Trump requested investigation compliance from Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, in return for providing them U.S. aid to assist in fighting the Russian incursion. Bolton detractors attribute his reluctance to testify to the personal economic motive to enhance sales of this book. While my preference was that he testify then, unfortunately, he is correct when he states it would not have changed the outcome. What is far worse for the nation, however, is that Bolton asserts that the Ukraine extortion was not unique, but rather standard operating procedure under the Trump administration.
Seemingly, Trump thrives when buoyed by his enablers. They are the members of the feckless Republican party, a gossamer-thin shell of what was the once proud conservative tradition. Repudiating both truth and science, these sycophants are more fearful of Trump’s philistine and emotionally challenged base, than they are concerned for standing up for the American people and the U.S. Constitution.
Continuously, Trump flaunts the established checks and balances enumerated in the tripartite and co-equal form of government envisioned by the founding fathers. Inspectors general, he has removed. Most recently the independent U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York was unceremoniously removed without any explanation. The common factor was they were performing their mandated oversight responsibilities. In Geoffrey Berman’s case, the most plausible reason is that he was investigating Halkbank, a Turkish bank, something Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the strongman President of Turkey, wanted stopped. This is exactly the kind of malfeasance that Bolton warns about in his book. On camera he stated that Trump told Erdogan that he would take care of the problem. The quote was "And the president said to Erdogan at one point, 'Look, those prosecutors in New York are Obama people. Wait till I get my people in, and then we'll take care of this.’” Of course, he was lying to Erdogan as he, not Obama, appointed Berman, a Republican who even held a position on the transition team. As always with Trump, loyalty is one-way and he’ll throw anybody under the bus for his own benefit.
John Bolton presumes to be cautiously optimistic that the U.S. Government can recover from one term with Trump as POTUS. I agree with him when he states survival of our form of governance, if Trump is granted a second term, is unlikely. The damage he has already inflicted, especially in the Judicial Branch, will take decades from which to recover.
Bottom line is that whether or not you like John Bolton, it is reasonable to assume what he has written is consistently truthful. For Americans, The Room Where it Happened is yet another warning. How many does it take?