And what so many are asking, with the stakes so high. You felt no obligation at all to tell the American People about this . Your critics saying, why is he making a profit on this now . Now, the future, what happens in the five months until november . Are you saying that all decisions the president makes were driven by reelection . I didnt see anything where that wasnt the major factor. I dont think hes fit for office. I dont think he has the competence to carry out the job. The room where it happened. If the book gets out, hes broken the law and i would think that he would have criminal problems. This is the book that President Trump does not want the American People to read. And maybe hes not telling the truth, hes been known not to tell the truth, a lot. John bolton is the highest ranking official to write an insider account of his experience inside trumps white house. Why is this the book President Trump doesnt want anyone to read . Because this is a book of facts. So why wouldnt President Trump want to know about those facts . Because i think it shows a pattern quite contrary to the image he would like to convey, of a decisive president who knows something about what hes doing. Bolton has been defined by fierce ideology. He was once ambassador to the United Nations and served the three previous republican president s. He is an aggressive promoter of a hawkish, strong projection of American Power around the world. Many of us thought that bolton going in with that portfolio, there could be some conflict. On april 9th, 2018, bolton started his job as trumps Third National security adviser in less than 15 months. Breaking right now, john bolton is in, good news, as National Security adviser. John bolton is the right guy at the right time. I think hes going to be a fantastic representative of our team. Hes highly respected by everybody in this room. You are going to do a fantastic job, and i appreciate you joining us. Thank you. Its an honor to be here. But john bolton is about to join a revolving door of advisers. Lets go back. So you walk in to the white house. Youd worked for three other president s, both bushes and reagan. What was immediately different about the Trump White House . This was not like a white house i had ever seen before. It was not functioning in the same way as any of the three previous president s i had worked for. From his first day in office, trump was a president unlike any other. Were not going to let the fake news tell us what to do. Unpredictable and often incendiary. If youre not happy here, then you can leave. Thats what i said in a tweet, which i guess some people think is controversial. A lot of people love it, by the way. Donald trump is a reality tv star turned president of the United States of america. He likes the tv moments. He also thrives on chaos. Is that your bible . Its a bible. Even the daily schedule at the white house was unorthodox. What most people found striking was that trumps official day didnt start until almost lunchtime. Trump was not loafing during the morning. He talked to all manner of people. Who were those outsiders he was listening to . I dont really know. I think they were friends. Sometimes he would say a very wise person told me x, or somebody who really knows this stuff told me y. What were his briefings like . Was he reading his briefings . Well, my experience was he very rarely read much. The Intelligence Briefings took place perhaps once or twice a week. Is that unusual . Its very unusual. They should take place every day. The president should read extensively the material hes given. Its not clear to me that he read much of anything. There was just an unwillingness on the part of the president , i think, to do systematic learning so that he could make the most informed decisions. Im a very stable genius. The president has referred to himself as a stable genius. Is that what you saw . Really . How can anybody call himself a stable genius . He did say it a couple times when i was in his presence. And i just didnt react to him. You wrote the president was not just uninformed, but stunningly uninformed. Can you give us some examples . Well, there were things that we went over again and again and again that just didnt seem to sink in. Like, why was the Korean Peninsula partitioned in 1945 at the end of world war ii, and what did that lead to, and how did we get to that point . You say in the book that trump asked general john kelly if finland was part of russia. He said those things, absolutely. And when youre dealing with somebody who asks questions like that, its very hard to know how to proceed. Would you say anything to him about this . Well, you dont you dont necessarily say to any president , you know, mr. President , you really gotta buckle down here and do your lessons. So, no, i didnt do it that way. But i certainly tried on a couple of occasions with, i think, success from time to time. From the beginning, the Trump White House was a family affair. Both his soninlaw jared and his daughter ivanka hold key positions as his advisers. They even have a disparaging nickname. They call them javanka because theyre sort of seen as one and the same. Somebody once said to me, in the Trump White House theres family, and everyone else is the help. Who held the most power in the white house . It varied from time to time. But i think the sustained answer to that question over time is Jared Kushner. Thank you, jared. My star. He is so great. If you cant produce peace in the middle east, nobody can. Jared Kushner Deals with everything. Think about it. When it comes to middle east peace, jared, you deal with that. When it comes to dealing with china, jared, you take the lead on that. When it came to the coronavirus pandemic, suddenly there he was again. Jared kushner has a very broad portfolio. Is he the most qualified person for those jobs . I really dont really want to get into the to the family aspect of this. The focus ought to be on the president. But if Jared Kushner is the second most powerful person in that white house, why cant you answer that question . Well, i think a question i would put in turn to conservative republicans is, how do you feel about that . While reluctant to get personal about the trump family in our interview, bolton did share a story about the president and his daughter after news broke of ivankas private email account. Ivanka trump under fire, accused of doing exactly what her own father campaigned against. Using a private email account to conduct government business. You share one story of how policy was essentially shaped to protect the trump family interest. After u. S. Intelligence reportedly determined the Saudi Crown Prince played a role in the killing of jamal khashoggi, trump issued a statement, you say, to divert attention from ivanka, who was Getting Press for her emails, her private email account. Well, the president said that. Now, in fact, he also strongly believed in the statement that he made about u. S. Policy visavis saudi arabia, despite the killing of khashoggi, because of the arms sales relationship and other things. But it was very much on his mind that day that his daughter was taking some heavy hits in the press and absolutely guaranteed this diverted everyones attention. And he said that . Yes. But whats garnered a lot of attention is boltons assertion that he saw a disturbing pattern behind the president s Decision Making process. You say that you were astonished by what you saw. A president for whom getting reelected was the only thing that mattered, even if it meant endangering or weakening the nation . Well, i think he was so focused on the reelection that longerterm considerations fell by the wayside. There was considerable emphasis on the photo opportunity and the press reaction to it, and little or no focus on what such meetings did for the bargaining position of the United States. Are you saying that all decisions the president made were driven by reelection . Thank you very much, el paso, thank you very much. I didnt see anything where that wasnt the major factor. So a lot of people have complained that he has a short Attention Span, and he doesnt focus. I want to say when it comes to reelection, his Attention Span was infinite. Its just too bad there wasnt more of that when it came to National Security. You describe the president as erratic, foolish, behaved irrationally, bizarrely. You cant leave him alone for a minute. He saw conspiracies behind rocks. He couldnt tell the difference between his personal interests and the countrys interests. I dont think hes fit for office. I dont think he has the competence to carry out the job. There really isnt any guiding principle that i was able to discern other than, whats good for Donald Trumps reelection. He calls you a traitor. What would you call him . Coming up. Reliability 13 times in a row. Nbeatable this network is one less thing i have to worry about. vo then you give people more plans to mix and match, so you only pay for what you need. Verizon unlimited plan is so reasonable, they can stay on for the rest of their lives. Awww. vo you include the best in entertainment and you offer it all starting at 35. Because everyone deserves the best. This is unlimited built right. Only on verizon. So we collaborate ocean spray works with nature every day to farm in a Sustainable Way for spending a perfectly reasonable amount of time on the couch with tacos from grubhub . Grubhubs gonna reward you for that with a 5 off perk. doorbell rings [crowd] grubhub fireworks exploding north korea, the most secretive nation on the planet. Fueled by power, loyalty, and greed. From its millionman military to its eerie, forced conformity, a nation living in fear. The best way to understand north korea is that its a 25million person prison camp. And its ruled by the worlds only hereditary communist dictatorship. Kim jongun, known as Supreme Leader to his people, an International Outlaw to much of the world. North korea is a poor country. People starve there, and this for decades, this regime has spent untold amounts of money developing this nuclear and Ballistic Missile program. This is the heart of their power. You have always been a hardliner on north korea. And yet, there you were with a president who wanted to meet with kim jongun. What concerns did you have about that . Well, i was very concerned that he would give away things that he didnt need to give away. To be clear, i dont think north korea is ever going to voluntarily give up its Nuclear Weapons program. For decades, north korea has been building up its nuclear arsenal. North korea should have been handled 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years ago, but ill fix the mess. So when kim launched a long range missile that could potentially reach the United States with a nuclear weapon, trump went ballistic. We begin with north korea. President trump warning the regime today against making any more threats toward the u. S. North korea better get their act together or theyre going to be in trouble like few nations ever have been in trouble. The president had a nickname for the dictator. Rocket man. Rocket man. Little rocket man. And a warning. Rocket man is on a Suicide Mission for himself and for his regime. Kim jongun is saying equally incendiary things out of north korea. And hes testing increasingly sophisticated rockets capable of delivering Nuclear Weapons. He has been very threatening, beyond a normal statement, and as i said they will be met with fire, fury, and frankly power the likes this world has never seen before. It was a very dangerous, very unsettled time. I was really being tough, and so was he. We went back and forth, and then we fell in love, okay . Kim sent the president an oversized love letter. He wrote me beautiful letters. And they were great letters. It was the beginning of the bromance. Do you think he really believes that kim jongun loves him . I dont know any other explanation. I think kim jongun gets a huge laugh out of this. I mean, these letters are written by some functionary in the north Korean Workers Party agitprop office. And yet the president has looked at them as evidence of this deep friendship. Even if it were a deep personal relationship, it doesnt change the fact kim jongun is never going to give up his Nuclear Weapons program. But nobody should misunderstand that a personal relationship is somehow equivalent to better relations between the two nations. If we make a deal, i think kim jongun is going to be very, very happy. I really believe hes going to be very happy. When the two leaders met for the first time in singapore for their historic summit, it was high theater. Donald trump wanted to put on the Foreign Policy show of a lifetime. You saw the american flags flying next to the north korean flags, the stage set. Kim jongun coming from one side of the stage, donald trump coming from the other. Smiling like they had been old friends. Why is this Diplomatic Initiative so important to President Trump . When we were in singapore, one of the things he said over and over again was to ask how many press people were going to be present for his final press conference. And i think the final number, it was a very large number, as it should have been, 400, 500. By the time we left singapore, he was at 2,000. Thats what he was focused on. That he had had this enormous photo opportunity, the first time an american president has met with the leader of north korea. John bolton saw the bargaining firsthand. Behind closed doors, in the photo, he is there, in the room where it happened. Take us inside that room. The press mob, as you call them, comes in. As soon as they leave, you say, the flattery began with kim jongun. Right. Well, everybody president has a style. But the idea that just this oleaginous layer of compliments to this brutal dictator would convince him that you could make a deal with donald trump, i thought, was both strikingly naive and dangerous. He told kim jongun we would give up what he called the war games on the Korean Peninsula. The president didnt seem to understand that the war games, as he called them, were critical to american and south korean ability to be ready to withstand pressure from north korea. And to pull down these engagements, these exercises, because they displeased kim jongun, i just thought was an act of folly. Just a month before that summit, you praised the president s skill, saying he would size kim up, and that he has got an outstanding ability to do that. Did you believe that when you said it . Not particularly. But, you know, one of the functions of an Administration Official is to defend the administration. The summit was over but the bromance was in full bloom. Trumps nickname for kim jongun was rocket man. Well, he gave him an elton john cd. Im a rocket man and he tried to explain that calling him rocket man was actually a compliment. And i dont think weve heard from kim jongun what he thought of elton johns song. But that would thatll be an interesting tidbit in history. But this is the kind of focus that leads you to wonder whether theres an ability to discern whats cosmetic here from whats truly serious. And you think what he did there is dangerous . I think when youre dealing with the power of Nuclear Weapons in the hands of an irrational regime, not taking that as seriously as he should have was a big mistake. Donald trump got a lot. The u. S. Itself got nothing from that. The United States gave much more legitimacy to this dictator. And didnt accomplish anything toward any meaningful discussion on the elimination of their Nuclear Weapons program. Did you tell him at any time about the things youre now telling the world . Well, i certainly tried to. I said at one point, mr. President , hes the dictator of a rat [ bleep ] Little Country that doesnt deserve a meeting with you. The president s response to that was, you know, you have a lot of hostility. Of course, i have more hostility. But you have a lot of hostility. They would meet twice more, trump walking away from a summit in hanoi as kims demands hardened. Sometimes you have to walk. And this was one of those times. Only to show up months later at the dmz. Trump becoming the First American president to step into north korea. Would you like me to step across . I would be very proud to do that. But trumps highstakes gamble has gotten him nowhere with denuclearization. The man who brought us the art of the deal failing to secure one. As we sit here today, would you say the threat from north korea is greater today than when President Trump took office . The threat from north korea today is absolutely greater. Because while all these Photo Opportunities were taking place, theres absolutely no doubt that north koreas work on both its nuclear and Ballistic Missile programs continued. So on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate trumps ability to make a deal on north korea . Well, i think it turned out clearly at this point to be zero. Its not that hard to make a deal, if youre prepared to give away enough. And if you dont fully appreciate what it is youre giving away, or the nature of the adversary negotiating on the other side of the table, you can make some pretty serious mistakes. Next you say that president putin plays donald trump like a fiddle. How does he do it . Ok, so, magnificent mile for me i thought i was managing. My moderate to severe Crohns Disease. Yes until i realized something was missing. Me. You ok, sis . Kept me from being there for my sisters. Flight boarding for flight 2007 to chicago. So i talked to my doctor and learned. Humira is for people who still have symptoms of Crohns Disease after trying other medications. And the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief. And many achieved remission in as little as 4 weeks. Humira can lower your ability to fight infections. 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I think putin is smart, tough. I think he sees that hes not faced with a serious adversary here. I think putin thinks he can play him like a fiddle. I dont think hes worried about donald trump. Hi, everybody. Welcome to moscow. In the years before he was president , donald trump brought his Miss Universe pageant to russia. Of course, the big man on campus, donald trump. Hoping that president putin would attend. Through the years, his interest in russia and putin continued up to the 2016 election. I mean, he might be bad, he might be good, but hes a strong leader. But it was this comment on the campaign trail that raised questions. Russia, if youre listening, i hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. He essentially called on russia to hack into Hillary Clintons emails. By the way, if they hacked, they probably have her 33,000 emails. I hope they do. Since he took office, trump and putin have shared a complicated relationship. Putin struck me as totally in control, calm, selfconfident, totally knowledgeable on moscows National Security priorities. You say that president putin plays donald trump like a fiddle. How does he do it . He knows the people hes talking to. And i think he looks at somebody like donald trump and says to himself, as an old kgb officer, how am i going to get him to the place i want him to be . And i can just see the smirk when he knows hes got him following his line. Well, actually, putin did call me a genius and he said i am the future of the republican party. So hes off to a good start. You wrote that on a few occasions, President Trump was eager or even desperate, as you describe it, to meet with Vladimir Putin. Well, i think there was the same fascination with speaking with a leader like putin that we saw with respect to kim jongun. The president himself used to comment on how strange it was that in one trip he took to a nato summit, that he thought the easiest, most pleasant one might be with Vladimir Putin. July, 2018. And the two men were about to meet at a highprofile summit in finland. Great to be with you. So here you have the president going to meet with Vladimir Putin, as the world has seen the evidence that people that work in Vladimir Putins government were directly involved in the hack of the Democratic Party emails during the 2016 campaign. So its an incredible cloud over this meeting of these two men. Donald trump, as we say, sees himself as a dealmaker. What happened to the dealmaker in those situations . Well, the president may well be a superb dealmaker when it comes to manhattan real estate but when youre dealing with somebody like putin, who has made his life understanding russias strategic position in the world against donald trump, who doesnt enjoy reading about these issues or learning about them, its a very difficult position for america to be in. I love to negotiate things. I do it really well, and all that stuff. Trump was not following any International Grand strategy. His thinking was like an archipelago of dots, leaving the rest of us to discern or create policy. I would assume that donald trump would come back and say, look, we put very serious sanctions on russia. And that he has been good with donald trump and you need to have good relationships. Certainly, personal relationships between leaders are important but they do not dominate what the National Interests are. And i think putin has a very acute knowledge of what russias National Interests are and how he wants to accomplish them. You were worried about leaving him alone in a room with Vladimir Putin. Why . Because i didnt know what he would say. The president has said this will put him in a bad position with world leaders. If you were president , you certainly wouldnt want your former National Security adviser to be saying that the russian president could play you like a fiddle. Why does that not matter as he goes forward . Well, its not telling Vladimir Putin anything that he doesnt already know. And its telling the American People something they may not be aware of. At the end of the summit, trump and putin held a press conference that would make headlines around the world. President trump and putin have just concluded their one on one meeting. During todays meeting, i addressed directly with president putin the issue of russian interference in our elections. I felt this was a message best delivered in person. You said you were frozen in your seat watching that. I thought i wouldnt get up. I didnt know what to do. My people came to me, dan coats came to me, and some others and said they think its russia. I have president putin, he just said its not russia. I will say this. I dont see any reason why it would be. We had the famous press conference. And the equivalency that the president ascribed, he says, because he was misunderstood, to what our intelligence was saying about russian interference in american elections and Vladimir Putins denial. It was it was a stunning moment. So i have great confidence in my intelligence people, but i will tell you that president putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. History was made and the reverberations were immediate. The president clearly appearing to choose putin. Do you think President Trump did not like to talk about election interference . Oh, i definitely think he did not like talking about election interference because he made what i viewed as the mistake of believing that if he accepted that the russians had intervened in the 2016 election, that it legitimized the narrative that they had intervened to help him, hurt Hillary Clinton and that he would not have won without the russian interference. I think Vladimir Putin and their strategy rests on the real perception that american Politics Today is very fraught, very tense, very difficult. Everything they can do to stir mistrust, to undercut the legitimacy of our Democratic Institutions helps to paralyze america. And a weaker, more paralyzed, more divided america is in russias interests. Theyre having Great Success at it. I think many of these foreign leaders mastered the art of ringing his bells. You say the term, he was marked by some of those leaders. I think they knew exactly what they were looking at and they pursue their objectives. And this this is, in my view, the only way you can pursue a successful policy, is persistently, with the eye on your ultimate objective, and taking trump apart piece by piece by piece, which im afraid too often was the case. Next you couldve told these stories when you were in the white house, and you chose instead to do it in a book. Why . Having difficulty streaming your movie is annoying. Step up with boost mobile and stream all you want. Or dont and be uncomfortably waiting. Step up with boost mobile and take in the movie on your new big screen lg k51 or dont and run into your exboyfriend with the hat. Step up with boost mobiles new upgraded network. Stronger signal. Faster speeds. More coverage. Switch and get 4 lines for 25 per line, per month with unlimited data and 4 free lg k51 phones. Step up with boost mobile. To have constipation with belly pain, straining, and bloating, again and again. Is it . Maybe you think. Its occasional constipation. Maybe its not. 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Its the 1 vet recommended protection. And its safe for puppies. Nexgard. What one little chew can do. Fallout this morning after Robert Muellers marathon testimony. Seven hours of questions from two committees. And that caused President Trump to declare victory. The big question now, what comes next here on the hill . So the mueller testimony is behind us, and the very next morning, little did we know that donald trump was on the phone with the ukrainian leader doing what appeared to be what was really related to that central question of the Mueller Report seeming to invite foreign interference in a u. S. Election. Ukraine seems an unlikely place as a battleground to imperil an american presidency, but that is exactly what happened in 2019. It was, in a very real sense, the day President Trumps impeachment began. Youve never spoken publicly about what happened last year, but you wrote that ukraine was a perfect example of trump working for his own best personal interests. Explain. He wanted a probe of joe biden in exchange for delivering the Security Assistance that was part of the congressional legislation that had been passed several years before. So that in his mind, he was bargaining to get the investigation, using the resources of the federal government, which i found very disturbing. It began with that phone call. The president of the United States to the president of ukraine. Compliments, goodwill, then a request, a favor. According to the transcript, the president says the following. I would like you to do us a favor, though. Because our country has been through a lot and ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like to have the attorney general call you or your people and i would like you to get to the bottom of it. Theres a lot of talk about bidens son, that biden stopped the prosecution. A lot of people wanna find out about that. The conversation that i had was absolutely perfect, and most people that have read it say the same thing. The linkage between the military assistance and that opportunity to go after joe biden didnt emerge immediately. But i could see that the issue was there. He said it to me directly that thats what he had in mind. And ill say again, i think it was widely understood at senior levels in the government that thats exactly what his objective was. Can you tell us who else understood that . I think secretary pompeo understood. The pentagon understood. The Intelligence Community understood. People in the white house understood. The president wasnt shy in voicing the view of the ukraine that thats what he wanted. It turned out not to be a convictable impeachable offense. But its something the American People ought to take a look at, as they should the other examples. He focused on terms like china buying more agricultural products, which he said to xi jinping directly would help him in the farm states, a really, to me, stunning statement by a president to the leader of an adversarial foreign country. So youre saying that if the democrats had looked at what you call a broader pattern of behavior, then there might have been a greater chance to persuade others that high crimes and misdemeanors had been perpetrated. I think the example of ukraine could well amount to it. As for the others, they require more investigation. For ukraine, almost bolton says trump told him directly it was waiting for an investigation of bidens son and the democrats. August 20th comes a key conversation you had with President Trump about the Security Assistance. What exactly did the president say to you . Well, he directly linked the provision of that assistance with the investigation. The New York Times reported on that august conversation. And the president denied it, tweeting, i never told john bolton that the aid to ukraine was tied to investigations into democrats, including the bidens. Is the president lying . Yes, he is. And its not the first time, either. I think its important to get these kinds of facts out on the table. And i dont think President Trump really fears what foreign governments are going to read in the book. He fears what the American People are going to read. The question was, was the president looking for a quid pro quo, this for that . It was hotly denied by the president. There was no quid pro quo. There was no quid pro quo. There was no quid pro quo. Many in congress wanted to hear what bolton had to say during trumps impeachment. Bolton has said that he would testify. To have ambassador bolton testify under oath. John bolton has relevant testimony. The senate must have him testify as a witness. This wouldve been the president s National Security adviser, former National Security adviser, who wouldve been giving a firsthand account of his version of the facts. But bolton didnt speak. You were a star witness to something the president was on trial for, something you say you now find deeply disturbing, possibly criminal. Yet you felt no obligation at all to tell the American People about this . Whether in testimony on the hill or an interview or a statement or anything . I was fully prepared if i got a subpoena. I think the way the house advocates of impeachment proceeded was badly wrong. I think it was impeachment malpractice. You could have been that person providing that testimony. And it would not have made any difference. The how can you say that . How do you know . Because minds because minds were made up on capitol hill. But youre also saying had they looked at it was too narrow. They were just looking at ukraine. And they should have looked at all these things that youre outlining in the book. If they didnt know about those things from you, how could they do that . Because an impeachment process that was serious and not partisan, like watergate, would have taken the time to cover all these areas. They failed utterly to accomplish what they wanted. In fact, they made things worse, because their strategy fitted with the trump political strategy. Keep it narrow, and move it fast. But now he is bringing it all out and getting paid for putting it in a book. You couldve told these stories when you were in the white house or when the impeachment trial was going on. And you chose instead to do it in a book. Because i didnt think the democrats had the wit or the political understanding or the reach to change what, for them, was an exercise in arousing their own base. So that they could say, we impeached donald trump. The democrats can pursue whatever policy they want. They dont dictate to me how best to bring this to the attention of the American People. But you can certainly understand why your critics say, why didnt he come forward before . Why is he making a profit on this now . You know, it has it has nothing to do with making a profit. It has everything to do with making sure that the Constitutional Responsibilities that are accorded to different branches of government are carried out the right way. In his impeachment trial, President Trump was acquitted. Bolton, by then, no longer worked for his administration. The house advocates said, we have proven trump impeached forever, and that hed learn a lesson from it. Absolutely 180 degrees the opposite of the truth. He didnt learn lessons from it, other than that he could get away with it, which leaves only the last guardrail, is the election this november. Next he broke up with you . He wants to look at it that way. I resigned. So when it comes to screening for colon cancer, dont wait. 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Thats why your chevy clean dealers commit to using enhanced vehicle cleaning measures with cdcapproved cleansers. If you need a new equinox, get 0 apr for 72 months or, four thousand five hundred dollars cash allowance on most models. You may even shop online and take delivery at home where available. So you can find new roads with confidence. National security adviser john bolton, appearing to contradict the commander in chief about pulling american troops out of syria. In the months leading up to john boltons departure, he was increasingly at odds with President Trump on major Foreign Policy issues. My friend. Like north korea and iran. Why did you stay so long if you did not trust the president . Because the stakes are so high that i thought i could continue to make a contribution. Its a huge honor to serve the United States in a senior government position. Its not something you walk away from lightly. What was the last straw for you . He negiations with t cp v out is why were the talks first put on the schedule and why were they canceled. We do know that ambassador bolton has been against this Peace Agreement. There must be a lot going on behind the scenes. This was a disaster, a Public Relations disaster for the president. Because it was revealed that he was actually inviting the taliban to come to camp david for a Peace Agreement announcement the week of september 11th. September 9th, trump called me down to the oval. He complained about press coverage on afghanistan, cancellation of the camp david meeting. He was furious he was being portrayed as a fool. It is going to be a great day if youre getting out to do just about anything. I came into the west wing as usual, about 6 00. I wrapped up a bunch of things that had been pending. I had my Resignation Letter prepared. I gave it to my assistant to take down to the oval office. I left to go home so i would be out of range when the letter hit. But the world learns shortly before noon that he has been fired, it all came the way these things always do, from a president ial tweet. We are coming on the air right now with some breaking news. Just moments ago, President Trump tweeting that he has asked his National Security adviser john bolton to resign. This is a lesson to anybody else contemplating resigning. Dont tell the president first. Dont show him the courtesy, cause hes not going to show you the courtesy. I should have struck preemptively. Theres a lesson in that, but i was content to countertweet with the facts. Well, the fascinating thing about this is bolton about 12 minutes later has his own tweet saying, no, no, no. He wasnt fired. He resigned. And at that point, my twitter account was shut off. Shut off . And he said he fired you . Well, thats simply not true. He and i had oneonone, a conversation the prior afternoon. And i said, look, if you want me to resign, ill do it. He said, lets talk about it the next morning. And then he went off to a political event. The president and his own National Security adviser cant agree publicly on how he left this job. It really speaks to how tested and damaged this relationship was. We learn youre no longer working at the white house through a series of tweets. He doesnt like a circumstance where he is upstaged. And he told me a story a couple times actually, involving kim jongun, whether there would be a singapore summit, whether it would be canceled or not. And he told me that he always wanted to be the one who broke up with the girl. He never wanted the girl to break up with him. And i think that explains everything. He broke up with you . If he wants to look at it that way. I resigned. It was mayhem in the white hello, everybody. So secretary pompeo and i are here today to talk about the president s new executive order. Where reporters have only one question in mind. Did john bolton get fired or did he quit . So last night the president asked for ambassador boltons resignation. As i understand it, it was received this morning. Was it news to you today because last night we were told he would be here today. I am never surprised. He made some very big mistakes. He wasnt getting along with people in the administration that i consider very important. The story was the stuff that late night talk shows are made of. Like a high 17yearold goes s through little debbies swiss rolls. I mean, bolton really should have seen this coming, every kid knows lets talk about it tomorrow means youre definitely not getting that pony. For trump, whether they quit or whether theyre fired, its trump who has the last word. Its a lot of fun to work with donald trump. And its very easy, actually, to work with me. You know why its easy . Because i make all the decisions. They dont have to work. Coming up im assuming you have not seen donald trump since you resigned . vo verizon knows how to build unlimited right. 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Grubhubs gonna reward you for that with a 5 off perk. doorbell rings [crowd] grubhub fireworks exploding just a short time ago, the department of justice filing a civil lawsuit. Doj filed that complaint in federal court to prevent john boltons book from being released. In terms of bolton, he broke the law. He didnt want the book to be published before the election. This is about suppressing an unfavorable account of his presidency. Trump fired off tweet after tweet. Calling bolton a whacko and a disgruntled boring fool. Is this a book from a disgruntled employee . Look, its a book that will stand on its own merits. Whatever my motives are, what better time for the American People to look at the character of the people running for president than during a president ial campaign . Impeachment, of course, is, for the most part, only a theoretical guardrail constitutionally. The real guardrail is elections, which trump faces in november, 2020. Its obviously a very sensitive matter for this president. Were in the midst of an election season about to go into high gear. This weekend, a federal judge rejected the governments attempt to block publication of boltons book. But the judge concluded that bolton has likely published classified materials without final government clearance and may face civil and criminal penalties. Do you fear at all you could be prosecuted . Look, under donald trump, no regular rules here apply. But i am confident that there is no National Security information, no classified information in the book. I didnt intend to write anything that revealed classified information. He calls you a traitor. What would you call him . Ive made my case about the president s not being a conservative and not being competent to serve in the book. Im assuming you have not seen donald trump since you resigned. Have not spoken with him. Do you think youll ever speak to him again . I doubt it. I dont think hes a conservative republican. Im not going to vote for him in november. Im certainly not going to vote for joe biden either. Im going to figure out a conservative republican to write in. How do you think history will remember donald trump . I hope it will remember him as a oneterm president who didnt plunge the country irretrievably into a downward spiral we cant recall from. We can get over one term. Two terms, im more troubled about. Decisions are made in a very scattershot fashion. Especially in National Security policy, its a danger for the republic. Get ready to match the stars joel mchale. Jane krakowski. Finesse mitchell. Caroline rhea. Jason biggs. And La Toya Jackson as we play the starstudded match game and heres the host of match game, alec baldwin [ cheers and applause ] whoo im alec baldwin. Welcome to match game. Match game, better known to my children as daddy on television saying nono words. [ laughter ] lets say hello to our celebrities. Joel mchale is here [ cheers and applause ] whoo joel, you have so much going on. True