Former United States National Security Advisor John Bolton indicated on Monday that he might run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Bolton said on “Meet the Press Now” on NBC News that former President Donald Trump’s comments about the “termination” of the Constitution should be a sign that he would not get re-elected.
“I’d like to see Shermanesque statements from all the potential candidates,” he said. “If I don’t see that, then I’m going to seriously consider getting in.”
The full statement from Trump had to do with the 2020 election, as RedState reported:
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Bolton added an announcement would have to be right around the corner if other candidates do not jump in soon to run against the former president. Several politicians such as former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have clearly expressed interest, and many polls have shown Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to be performing well against Trump as well.
“Well, I think it’s gonna have to be pretty short,” Bolton said when asked about a “timeline.”
Trump later walked the comments back in a Truth Social post, The Hill reported:
“The Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution. This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES, just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, and all of their other HOAXES & SCAMS,” he said.
Bolton briefly served under Trump, and the relationship soured and his reputation as a war hawk solidified.
The former advisor and Bush administration United Nations Ambassador went viral in July for saying that he helped coordinate coups in other countries.
“As somebody who has helped plan coup d’état, not here but other places, it takes a lot of work, and that’s not what he did,” Bolton said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
It’s safe to say that many Republicans agree that Trump’s remarks on the Constitution were not okay, which is why the former president walked them back in typical Trump-esque fashion. In fact, this is just one of many things that are leading many to believe that somebody else should take the reigns for 2024.
However, Bolton is not that guy, and he’s likely crossed a few people’s minds as a serious contender for the nomination. His appeal is incredibly narrow, and there are other leaders who would be much better equipped to make inroads not just with Republicans, but voters of all political stripes to win back the White House.
While there might be some in the beltway that would cheer Bolton on, it would be extremely unlikely that he would be the one to take Trump down.