Believe President Trump will take action againstst iran . No, i no, i dont. I think the reports that asked for options is fairly typical of the erratic, idiosyncratic, illinformed, inconsistent way he makes decisions. The thought occurs to him that maybe it would be a good thing to do, so it talks about it and then is talk out of it for Something Else detracts his attention i dont think thats at all likely. I think if anything dirty days from nowif he could be thinking about trying to meet with the ayatollah and make a deal to go back in the 2015 nuclear deal. That would be par for the course i think with him. What are you coming from inside . Well, i think he is definitely notin reconciled to have lost the election. Thats for sure. At i think he is being spun up by bad legal advice and that political advice that may be he does have a chance to win. I i think any that he will never concede that he lost turkey will say that the election was stolen from him, and im worried that in the next nine weeks he could do, he could still do a fair amount of damage both to the country and the government and the republican party, all of which i think is actively doing as wear speak. Book, the room where it happened, you right away about Rudy Giuliani and you are alarmed about mayor giulianis work with the president. Theas giuliani is leading legal effort, what you know, how does this call what you loosely their legal strategies and what you saying unfold, it is now two weeks since election, everybody in the party has been very tolerant. Everybody says he has a right to pursue his legal remedies. It is beside the point at this stage. The issue is not, does he have the right to do this, the question is, is a wise, is it the best thing for the country . Despite one claim after the other, including in the past 24 hours that evidence is coming out of a firehose, there is still no evidence of massive fraud. I think for the sake of the country as a whole to try to get past this very divisive election and for the republican party, conservator believe this erroneous idea that the election has been stolen, we have to begin to speak out and talk about what is going to happen on january 20 one a new president is sworn in. Robert do you believe it is time for President Trump to concede . John sure, it is past time for him to concede. But he is not going to do that. We need to find ways to allow the transition can begin, without sandy has lost. I do not care if he conceives. As republicans, we have an obligation to the country to assure a smooth transition. Ive been through good and i have been through bad transitions. Transition, it is always bad for the country. Thert do you believe that nonestates is one abode to attack or some other type of destruction because the transition is not unfolding in the usual way . John i dont think that we should be apocalyptic about it. I think that it is a matter of degree of what you could say toward certainty. With every day that goes by when the transition does not proceed an orderly fashion, this leaves us more vulnerable. I speak as a veteran of the florida recounts, 37 days were lost with no ability for the bush team to interact with the government. The 9 11 Commission Said it may not have been ready for the 9 11 attacks. I guess, do you want to take that chance again . Fired the recently direction of cybersecurity and infrastructure, the firing of President Trumpas made on the heels of the termination of the defense secretary, mark esper. What is your reaction to the firing of him and where the president is going . John i thought it was another bad mistake. There is no justification for. There was no justification to fire mark esper. Or the defense officials. There was not any just of his acacian any just of this case there was not any reason to fire bonnie click the deputy there is no reason to decapitate your National Security team with less than 10 weeks ago until the transition. That will inevitably cause dissections in the agencies themselves, let alone their ability to hand off smoothly. Moreugh there has been negative republican reaction on the health to chris caps firing, there is an enemies list in the white house of people still to fire and that there is more to come. Robert have you actually heard that . Isn i am worried that there an enemies list. I doubt there is, but i bet there is in donna traps head. Firing,for the krebs what are we supposed to interpret here about the president s intent, his plan when he fires all these officials . Wesley doing . What is he doing . Reason. Ere is no , itsure with chris krebs was because he said that there was no fraudulence. Believes that there is a conspiracy so vast. Under that kind of theory, you can posit people doing forever. What the information that the Homeland Security department, state and local officials have put out consistently, whether they are democrat or republican, there is no evidence of any kind of fraud or malfeasance anywhere ne the scale that would change the outcome of the election. Robert you have be in the room with president ump. Ive written about it. You have sat in the oval office with the present. Use the word fantasy world. Do you believe that President Trump is operating in some kind of fantasy, his the operating highly aware of what he is doing and with ill intent . How do you see that dynamic . John the same way that he always did. If there is any Silver Lining in his behavior so far in the transition, and i am afraid is what we will see him until january 20, it will expose more to the American People the way that he behaved on a daytoday basis during his administration. The more you see at this behavior, the more that you are seeing their real man. Im not saying that is detached from reality. Ive say that he likes to create his own reality and get people to agree with it. Realhe runs into the reality, sometimes that poses difficulty. He is running into the real reality right now having lost election. Robert what is the reality and afghanistan, the president has planned to order u. S. Troops to be withdrawn to cut American Forces in afghanistan by roughly half, going from 40 of hundred to about 2100 . With in the same decision respect to iraq, neither one is justified by facts on the ground. In the case of afghanistan, the withdrawal has nothing to do with the conditions based withdrawal plan consistent with the ainistrations deal with the taliban, a very illadvised deal and my judgment. These numbers of 2500 americans in iraq and afghanistan had nothing to do with military necessity. They are entirely political numbers. It is a bad precedent and sends a terrible signal. This is not responsible behavior during this transition. It is hard to find exact precedts. Maybe do some multipresident of 1993. There is no question that there is only one president at a time. A respsible president wl understand that the incoming president has to overtake the situation on january 20, at least finds a way to try and make the transition smooth. What donald trump is doing, and i think quite deliberately is trying to make ias hard for biden as he can, unnecessarily, potentially jeopardizing americans on the ground and both untries and agitating the alliances with several of our allies who are already afraid and out. Robert what does it actually mean, in reality, on the ground in afghanistan, for the Afghan Military forces, to have the u. S. Troop forces go down to that level of about 2500 . How does that play out if that is all you have in terms of u. S. Troops on the ground . Is a politically symbolic number but insufficient. Im still worried what the political what the president wants. To a playert agreed based on a deal with the taliban. He has changed his mind on that. It is his right to do that. The question is, it doesnt make sense from the perspective of American National interest, and our longterm credibility around the world . Acting secretary of fense, Christopher Miller has appointed aetired military colonel, douglas mcgregor, as his special assistant. Colonel mcgregor has been crital of you. He has said that youve been supportive of israel far too much. What is your response to colonel mcgregor about you responsibly about you personally . Favorhe also said i israel because they have made me rich. He said the same thing about mike pompeo and lindsey graham. These contents are blatantly antisemitic. I think that it is a shock that somebody like mcgregor is on any government payroll, let alone the defense department. Robert you think mcgregor is an antisemit john i think his comments are antisemitic. Robert have you got any read as to why he is installed in that post . John aree dont. I suspect his nomination to be ambassador in germany which was another travesty wasnt going anywhere, so he has been given to the defense department. Eight is another stain on the trump administraon. Robert speaking of ambassadors to germany. Your former advisor is now working with the president to contest election results. To this ambassador and his efforts . Entireook, i think the legal operation that the campaign has mounted has been seriously flawed, and obviously, if they did not share their internal strategy with me. What ive been able to discern, they really was very little theelection preparation for kind of effort that they would have had to mount to have a ghost of a chance in being successful of alleging widespread fraud. There may have been attorneys selected aund the country are potential contest, but if as the president had said reatedly during the campaign that they are going to try to steal it from me and that it is rigged, attorneys and others should have been out months before november 3 looking for evidence, looking for areas of concern, perhaps bringing actions in court to prevent the fraud from actually happening. I not see are you unbothed by the conduct of the ambassador . It,you pleased with disappointed, in terms of how he is handling the election . John i have not paid attention to what he has been doing personally. It is not a personal mter, whether it is grinnell or rudy genealogy rudy genealogy. I think most of this is made up after the election. Voting thought that the systems were controlled by the chinese communists or venezuela. I do not know what the latest theory is. Or if thought that the scorecard or the cia computers had somehow gotten out of control, if they really had thought all of this before the election, why did we not hear about this . We havelast two weeks, one theory after the other. The only thing missing is actual evidence. That is ultimately what will bring the entire strategy down. I am afraid it will bring discredit to the larger republican party. Robert do you believe that the troubled legal team will try to push this to the Electoral College to try to disrupt their and ultimately try to throwt to the u. S. House . John he does not think that rus apply to him. I had not seen any evidence of success so far. For fivet yesterday hours in court arguing about a court arguing about a claim to have been deleted. He wants to file a third complaint in that case. You can only make this up as you go for so long for the courts that you are appearing before and for other courts that are watching. They get the point they get the point that there is no there there. Robert what is read giulianis legacy . Was friends with rudy of bady years and a lot things happened in the Trump Administration. I think that this is one part of it. Robert any further thoughts on him, you have known him for so long. And federal court for the First Time Since the 1990s yesterday. In front of the judge. You read the reports about how it was quite a scene. John i think the reports speak for themselves. I really do not want to personalize this. Not with anybody working in the Trump Administration. My quarrel is with trump. Robert would you encourage krebs to speak out like you have . Personalis a very decision. I can understand why certain have not spoken out, i would not mind company. This is very difficult. You have a lot of people who went into the administration because they wanted to serve the country and thought they could make a contribution. They ran into the first president who i think in our history has not appreciated the weight of his responsibilities and the gravity of the job. Left under varying circumstancefor different reason. Some of these people, ive had my own disagreements with, but ive never doubt their patriotism and devotion to the constitution. I cannot speak to what is on their mind to what they are spoken are not written about ultimately marble co out. Everybody has a lot of factors to weigh and each will judge what is best for them. Robert ach judges what is best for them, are you disappointed by her longtime friend Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell for he is handled President Trumps lashing out at the election results, refusing to concede . Dont think talking about a particular individual robert he leads the republican party. You keep calling upon their probable party to speak out. John i understand that. I think it is a character test. I think ive clear about it. I think that it is important that republicans is begot. We seeaul is now that 50 50 ee polls right now that of republicans think that this election was stolen. This is not true. Many in the party will only hear donald trump. Their views will harden, and it will become mo difficult to find the truth. Do a weight and risk that, or do we begin to speak now . It is not a question of one person or another question. We cannot let the party be ruined because of the ego of one person. Thert can we go back to first question about iran . Can you recall when you were in the white house about how President Trumps about possibly attacking iran and the Nuclear Facilities at some point . How does he see it, how did he talk about it when he talks is National Security advisor . Ookn i wrote a 500 page that explains a bit and pieces about his decisionmaking. Reveal very hard not to anything classified, and i think that i succeeded, and i think that the National Security council reviewer agreed. If it were not for the presence effort to stop the book from coming out entirely, we would be in a different pce. I will be careful because the litigation continues. But i do not think that the president does this kind of analysis and is serious, responsible way. That because this is the consequence of a carefully thought out strategy for dealing with iran, where objectives have been matched against resources, and the context have been analyzed and the analysis has been done, and he has concluded that an military strike might make sense. It is just a thought became tim, and it probably disappeared. And a new idea will come. It is perfectly possible that will he will say th he wants to see kim jongun again. It is important for people, whether yoagree with the decisions by trump that he does not think and philosophical or strategic or even policy terms. I described in the book that his decisions are like an archipelago of thoughts. And i know in washington from a people have told me, it is hard for Old Washington hands to believe that is true. But it is true. Teamt since the biden does not have access to high Intelligence Briefings or federal funds, theres trembling they are scrambling to have a tradition. In the course of the effort, heavy reach out to you, because you have recently been inside this administration, and you know the players. Have anyone from bidens orbit reached out to you . John they had not, and i do not expect it. Part of the problem is that people are following the pattern of the 2000 transition, again because of the florida recount. The george w. Bush Sanderson Team was denied access. The Transition Team itself did not have much contact with the government. I was in florida, and i do not know the specifics. I know that it was very disruptive. That is not the approach that we see following now. The president ial transition act needs to be rewritten. The idea that these administrators are supposed to make decisions in a context like this is completely misguided. Incumbent is not going to contradict the president. There has to be another way to do this. The easier, better way is for a mature and responsible president to say i do not agree with the president elect as biden, but to keep things calm, i will allow the transition process to begin. Trump will not do that. I think that biden day by day is being put in an untenable position. I might just say that this is another reason why republicans who think of the interest of the country first, because i think that is where our party is, they need to speak up more now. Robert i would like to ask a question from one of our audience members. Sean solomon from wisconsin asking this question. Do you think that President Trump is a Security Risk for the United States once he leaves the office, with foreign debt and knowledge of highly classified nation . John i dont know if he has a foreign data. Donaldeems to know about trumps finances more than i do. It is a concern. Honest, there is enough to criticize President Trumps conduct. You do not have to be apocalyptic about it. I think everybody should take a deep breath. It is bad enough as it is, do not let your imagination run wild just yet. Robert wt you tnk he does once he leaves office . John i wish him a very qet retirement. I hope he makes a lot of money and successful Real Estate Investment i am worried that will not happen. I think that he will try to keep his influence within the republican party. Maybe he will buy a television network. God knows that he will continue to treat, and im afraid that it will be destructive for us. Robert packed with fears from pennsylvania. Do you have any regrets another audience number, pat mcphers from pennsylvania. Any regrets about working from donald trump . John i wanted to going and do what i cou. Based on eight years of mistaken policy and the obama administration, i was not shy in sharing my opinions. I do not doubt that i made a lot of mistakes. I wish i had been more successful on persuading the president on a number of key issues. Knowing what i dont now, i would still go in and probably do things to avoid, but i think it is important to serve the country if you had the opportunity. Scoresre that dozens and of other senior officials who have cycled through the four years of the Trump Administration also believe. I think that their efforts should be commended and not criticized. Robert how do yo believe the world and u. S. Rivals or emies, even, will challenge bidenst president elect once he takes office in january . John i think that there are a lot of ways in which that could happen. I think that they are certainly thinking about that right now. I believe that if you look at the strategic threats imposed by china and russia, there are any number of challenges they could pose. The continuing threat of Nuclear Proliferation by iran and north korea and others. Very serious. The continuing threat of radical islamic terrorism, it is growing. I think because of the administrations deal with the taliban, it is likely to grow worse and the times ahead. It will be a very challenging administration or president views anden his past the views of the Democratic Party. To dok i will have a lot in opposition for four years. Robert do think he will be able to bolster relationships with u. S. Allies that have grown beleaguered with President Trump . John i think that is the wrong way to look at it. Donald trump is an anomaly and an aberration. Represents conventional democratic, Foreign Policy thinking. At least hell be a normal democratic president. As we have debated for many years, i do not think even the normal democratic worldview is the right one. By removing the aberration and putting in, i am sure that joe biden would call josh putting in ormal president for 2021 the policies will remain a matter of debate. Robert you have been in state department, just as circles and government for decades. When you saw secretary of state mark when you saw the secretary of state mike pompeo tell reporters a couple days ago, a few weeks ago that is looking for to a second Trump Inauguration and a secondnd Trump Administration en after the election was clearly moving in a different direction, what did you say to yourself . What does that tell you about pompeo in the Trump Administration at this critical juncture . I sent in response to earlier questions i thought it was delusional. Mike has made his bones with donald trump and is going to have to live with them. We will leave it there. Ambassador bolton, appreciate your time this afternoon and coming back Washington Post live. Thanks for havingg me. We appreciate you all coming by for another conversation. Washington post live. We will keep adding more of them and these exchanges with people or critic to the administration and also working within the administration to give you a full picture of whats happening in the news, in the Democratic Party andin the republican part, and att 3 00 today we will have ongoing series. Washington post live come a a discussion with the cofounder of black lives matter. And tomorrow at 3 00 eastern i will interview ohio excuse me, colorado governor. Tomorrow at 3 p. M. Eastern. Today will have raised in america from the editorial page and on monday big event, big news here in Washington Post live. At 11 30 a. M. Eastern on monday we will host former president barack obama and the mellon foundations president Elizabeth Alexander to discuss the president new book, his just released memoir, a promised land. Ill be back at 1 00 money for discussion with dr. Anthony fauci. Monday to make sure to leave your late morning and afternoon free so you can join us for those conversations next week. Washingtonpostlive. Com to register and from the u. S. Chamber of commerce, live 5 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan2, online at cspan. Org or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Book tv on cspan2 has top noiction books and others every weekend. Coming up this weekend, saturday 1 00 p. M. Eastern from a recent virtual brooklyn festival offers veronica chambers, amy and senator garcia from the suffrage movement. Then, authors bri and Clarence Taylor on the histo of civil rights in new york. 7 25 p. M. Eastern, adam, author of midnight entrepreneur the worlds greatest Nuclear Disaster sunday 1 00 p. M. Eastern. More from the brooklyn book festival as authors charles, joann and frank discussed the past and future of technology. Then the potential effects the coronavirus will have on socie society. 9 00 p. M. Eastern on afterwards, political scientist and author deborah stone talks about her book, counting, how we use numbers to decide what matters. Shes interviewed by Data Scientist and author, kathy oneill. Watch book tv on cspan2 this weekend. You to the pandemic, federal agencies our employees work from home. The subcommittee is looking at the Lessons Learned from teleworking
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