Happening. Plus, stephen welcomes former National Security advisor john bolton. Featuring jon batiste and stay homin. And now, live on tape from a safe distance, its Stephen Colbert stephen got your props ready . All the props for our prop comedy show were going to do . Welcome to a late show. Im your host, Stephen Colbert. Were a little over four months from the president ial election, and things are not looking great for donald trump. Hes trailing biden by double digits in polls by cnn and cnbc. Hes even down by 12 points in a fox news poll. Ooh, you know it hurts more when you get the news from someone you love. The only way it could have been worse is if he found out from the bottom of a chicken bucket. Trump is so far behind, that according to the hill, there is no plausible scenario where trump would lose the National Popular vote by the kind of margin currently projected, yet why would you say that, you idiots i gotta knock on wood. Its aged in oak. Trumps still stinging from the embarrassment of his sparsely attended rally in tulsa, so last wow the trump rally gives fox news the largest saturday night audience in its hustory. Yes, husstory. You know what they say, those who fail to spell history are dermed to repoop it. Im sorry, you were repooping . Isnt it amazing that virtually nobody in the lamestream media is reporting this rather major feat great point. In the midst of a Global Pandemic and massive civil unrest, reporters are totally burying the story of how many people were watching tv. It reminds me of that headline from after pearl harbor f. D. R. Speech gets incredible ratings also war. To be fair, trump is right. A Record Number of people did tune in to watch him be humiliated in tulsa. Its the feelgood hit of the summer but today, trump was off to another rally, this time in arizona. Before he left, he screamed into the whirling blades of tonights episode of chopper talk stephen now, in addition to the empty seats, the big news from trumps tulsa rally is that he said he told Health Officials to slow down testing so america wouldnt get so many confirmed cases of coronavirus. The white house has since said multiple times that the president was joking. Yeah, hes joking about a Global Pandemic. Its a snippet from his new standup special Donald Trumps death comedy jam. as trump i really killed. Then i went onstage. This morning, the testing jokec mr. President , at that rally stephen oh, my god. Your staff tries to pull your news cycle out of the ditch, and you just floor it in reverse whats it like to work for this guy. Is what ill be asking my guest jhn bolton tonight. Now, like i said, trump was on his way to arizona, a state he desperately needs to win, and a senate seat that is deeply in trouble for the republicans. So he was prepared to play his greatest hit as trump wall. Stephen oh, we know. Every day youre in office, millions of americans turn to each other and say, okay, weve hit a new low. As he said, trump is going to arizona to celebrate buildingle. Its not the number. Because the grand total of new wall where there was no wall before is three miles. So, three miles in a little more than three years. Its 2,000 miles of border to cover so, he just needs to be president for about. 2,000 more years. as trump watch me drink water with one robot tentacle. Lock up hillarys brain in a jar. Trumps wall isnt just short. Its bad. Because according to reports, people are sawing through and climbing over trumps border wall. Well, hes got no one to blame but himself. Immigrants are just taking his advice if theres a concrete wall in front of you, go through it. Go over it. Go around it. But get to the other side of that wall. Stephen as trump shouldnt be hard, its only three miles long. One problem with trumps visit is arizona has tallied almost 55,000 cases of covid19 and has doubled the number of cases in the last 15 days. Yikes. The university of phoenix might have to start offering some of its courses online. Now, arizona is not alone. Other states reopened way too early, and predictably, half of u. S. States have seen a coronavirus surge. And one of the biggest reasons its spreading in those states is that coronavirus cases among young people are on the rise. In fact, several cases were linked to Fraternity Rush parties in oxford, mississippi. And now to ensure proper hygiene, University Officials have posted signs at all fraternities saying, please purell the vodka bottle before making the pledges boof. In the midwest, four cases of covid19 have been tied to the Cruisin ChubbysGentlemens Club in wisconsin dells. Not Cruisin Chubbys id expect that at a less reputable place like the meandering tentpole, or casual stiffies, or maybe floppys house of halfboners. But Cruisin Chubbys . Its a gentlemans club. They watch those ladies dance through a monocle. Now, completely off subject, when i saw this news story, i could not resist googling Cruisin Chubbys on somebody elses computer, and i found this helpful yelp review ranch dressing was the best ive had. I go every other day. Thats the first question everyone asks before going to a strip club hows the salad bar . Great, just. Dont touch the sneeze guard. In addition to his empty rally, trumps also been sensitive about criticism he got for slow walking a ramp and drinking two handed. Sources say the president has become so obsessed with showing how mentally fit he is that he has started reminding people about the cognitive Screening Test that he took in 2018. Proving youre fine now by pointing to something you did two years ago is not reassuring. as drunk man guys, im all good to drive. Seriously, remember two years ago when i wasnt drunk . Youre cute. Come here. I want to tell you something. Hi. Heres an example of the kind of test trumps bragging about. It involves advanced cognitive challenges like drawing a clock, knowing the date and month, and naming different animals. And im sure trump aced it. as trump okay, here we go. Uh, that dogs gonna eat the unicorns butt. Watch out, humpy horse, youre next. Okay, i did it. Wheres my chicken tenders . This restaurant sucks. Theres not even a treasure map on the back. At a Cabinet Meeting in early june, trump brought up the exam and waxed on about how he dazzled the proctors with his stellar performance. How can you dazzle a proctor on that test . as proctor incredible. Mr. President , you knew the date and the month. Youve graduated summa cum clock. Sources say that, recently, trump has been especially braggy about the part of the 2018 test where he was able to repeat five words in order. Thats right. I said all five words. And then the doctor said, no, you have to repeat the words i gave you. and i said, my words are better cookie, hat, wall, boobs. Cookie. You get double cookie with mine. So trump is feeling insecure about how people perceive his mental acuity heading into the election, which might be why he has also suggested challenging joe biden to take the same test. I cant wait to see those two duke it out on the debate zoom. as trump okay, so this black and white animal is clearly a stripey horse. as biden no way, jack. Thats a pinstripe donkey as trump stripey horse as biden pinstripe donkey as trump can we take a break . Im starving for some cookie boobs. My glasses go back on, tuck the hair back in, all good. Todays election day in new york, mississippi, virginia, north and south carolina, and kentucky. But one of the symptoms of coronavirus is major election headaches. So the obvious solution is mail in ballots so, naturally, trump is against it, tweeting, rigged 2020 election millions of mail in ballots will be printed by foreign countries, and others. It will be the scandal of our times wait a second, how can you have foreign countries, and others . What others could there be on the planet . Get ready for senator eustice p. Moleman. The president also used twitter to continue his feud with my guest tonight, former National Security adviser and selfaware push broom, john bolton. Boltons promoting his scathing new book about the Trump Administration, the room where it happened. Trump went after bolton this morning on the fox and the friends. What he did do is he took classified information, then he published it during a presidency. Its one thing to write a book after during. And i believe he is a criminal. And i believe, frankly, he should go to jail for that. Stephen okay, but dont arrest john bolton until after i do my interview with him. I dont want a repeat of paul mccartney. Turns out his band was on the run. Stephen with the ongoing protests for racial justice, weve seen one area of reform statues. Americans have begun reexamining exactly who were honoring on that pedestal that teens vape around. In new york city, the museum of Natural History has announced a statue of Teddy Roosevelt will be removed, because, as the mayor put it, it explicitly depicts black and Indigenous People as subjugated and racially inferior. I have got to agree. If youve never seen the statue in question, here it is oh, yeah. Thats not good. Looks like the worlds most racist birthday boy pony ride. Look, history is what it is, anf ite house. But makids canearn abo instead, they spend too much time in middle School Learning the difference between stalagmites and stalagtites. Very few of americas children live in caves. Please, no letters, senator moleman some people are taking statue removing into their own hands. This weekend in d. C. , protesters pulled down a statue of confederate general albert pike and then set it on fire. In raleigh, north carolina, protesters pulled down a statue of a confederate soldier. And in california, people brought down a statue of the composer of the starspangled banner, Francis Scott key. And one person who doesnt seem to mind this particular destatueing is an actual descendant of key who tweeted this weekend, as a descendant of Francis Scott key, let me just say. This is fine. It turns out, Francis Scott key owned slaves, persecuted abolitionists, and wrote a completely unsingable song. We need a new National Anthem that everyone can sing sweet carolina bah, bah, bah and all the other 50 staaates and guam and puerto rico play ball this trend of destatueing clearly has trump upset, because he took to one of his fox friends to try to undermine the message of the protesters. And heres the other problem i have. A lot of these people that want it down dont even know what they are taking down. I watched them on television, and i see whats happening. And they are ripping down things they have no idea what they are ripping down. Stephen look, reasonable people can argue this is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do, but they know exactly what theyre tearing down. If its just statues, theyd also be pulling down the nations bobs big boys. His only crime is wearing pants up to his nipples. And if i just made you think about big boys nipples, youre welcome. We have got a great show for you tonight. Ill be talking to the author of the room where it happened, former National Security advisor john bolton. Stick around. However you go back, weve got your back. An extra 15 credit on car and motorcycle policies . Wow. Ok thats 15 on top of what geico could already save you. So what are you waiting for . Idina menzel to sing your own theme song . Tara, tara, look at her go with a fresh cup of joe. 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And now with our stores reopening, were putting Healthy Practices in place. Come visit a store today. Stop in or book an appointment online at a time that works for you. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Ask. Shop. Discover at your local xfinity store today. Stephen welcome back, everybody. My guest tonight has spent over three decades in government and served as president trumps National Security advisor. His new book about his time in the Trump Administration is called the room where it happened. Please welcome ambassador john bolton ambassador, thanks for being with us tonight. Glad to be with you. Stephen how thick is your skin . Because youve gotten a lot of criticism about waiting to tell all this information in the book, rather than speaking out earlier. Have you gotten used to that . Well, you never get used to it entirely, but i think there are very Important Reasons why i didnt do it, why i thought the impeachment effort led by house of representatives, democrats, was badly guided, badly mistaken stephen ive heard those, because ive seen some of the interviews. Im just curious how do you feel about people criticizing you about that . You know, i think its part of being in washington these days. I think if you dont have a thick skin, maybe you ought to think about another line of work. Im not saying i enjoy it by any stretch of the imagination, but if youre not prepared for it, youre just not going to be heard in the washington debate. S is ierview easier. Fair warning. Stephen now, donald trump called you a traitor. And some people out there might think you have an axe to grind against the g. O. P. How conservative are you . Well, the exact opposite is true. Look, i got my start in politics at the ripe old age of 15, handing out leaflets for Barry Goldwater in 1964. Ive been involved in the republican stephen you sound like fun yeah. Believe me. I was a white house summer intern for spiro agnew in 1972. Stephen uhhuh. I worked that was before being a white house intern was famous. I worked in the reagan administration. I worked in both bush administrations. I have written more opeds than i can count, given speeches. Ive been a conservative all my life. And to me, this is this is about philosophy. I dha to goo government. You certainly dont go into government for financial reasons. I just could have stayed but to me, particularly in the National Security field, its philosophy driven. And that was one of my principal problems with donald trump as i experienced it. Stephen you know, you didnt have to go into government, and you didnt have to go into the Trump Administration. You had to know that that was a a whirlpool of chaos in there, even those of us looking from the outside who never got to go in could see it. Why did you go in knowing how chaotic it was . Did you think that chaos was a ladder that you could climb and do the right thing . I certainly heard all the stories. But i had also spoken with trump before he was elected, after he took office. And it was my belief that that this could be overcome, that you could set up an orderly process to advance what i thought were policies that trump felt comfortable with, policies he had articulated in speeches during the campaign. And for those who say, but, you know, trump and bolton never got along all i can say is i was on fox for over 10 years, and i dont think anybodys ever criticized me for being shy about my opinions. He saw me all the time. If he didnt understand what i was saying, i honestly dont know what i could have done to say it any clearer. So i entered, i think aware of the problems, but optimistic that they could be overcome. And the book is the story, perhaps, about how i was wrong about that. Stephen the book is packed with shocking revelations that really shouldnt be shocking, because they seem so true to form for donald trump. As National Security advisor, you saw interaction between trump and world leaders, and you depict trump as someone with a soft spot for autocrats. Who took advantage of that the most of his soft spot . Every one of them. Its a close race to see who could see through him the clearest and try to manipulate him. Xi jinping, Vladimir Putin, kim jongun, erdogan of turkey. Theres a long list of them. To me that was obviously very troubling. The president didnt study the facts of the issues he had to discuss with these leaders. He didnt prepare to the extent he should. There were some cases where we were able to brief him. But basically and he would say this to his advisers and others, he wanted to do this the same way he did real estate deals in new york, and maybe thats the way others do them, too. But to go in with kind of his gut feeling, he would say that he could make a nuclear deal with iran in a day. That he could just size kim jongun up in a few minutes, and they could cut a deal very quickly. Its just not realistic. But he never understood that. I always had the feeling, sitting in these meetings, that they could see right through him. It was not a fair fight. Stephen but none of that could be surprising because you saw from the campaign that he was a completely incurious person who had no interest in knowledge or the truth. So youve said that he has no philosophy, and that that itself is very dangerous. Whats more dangerous no philosophy or a philosophy that you disagree with . Well, i think its what they call in the arms control world incommensurables. I think the choice i face and i think many others from the republican side face in november is a democrat who we disagree with, joe biden, with a republican that we dont think is up to the job. Its not a happy choice. I think i think thats thats something that i wish we could find a way around. I dont i dont see its going to happen, though. Stephen you say that trump had a penchant to give personal favors for the dictators hes liked. And that he he wanted to establish a personal relationship with these people, and these favors were sort of a way of establishing his personas really important in international affairs, or is it just kind of show business friendships that arent that meaningful . Well, it varies, of course. But i do think theres a role for personal relations. Its easier if theres an ability to talk between two leaders, whether theyre allies or adversaries. But i think the president had trouble distinguishing between a good personal relationship with mr. X, and the truth about the bilateral relationship between the two countries. I dont think, for example, Vladimir Putin or xi jinping had any trouble distinguishing between those two things. But i do think donald trump did. S i fe he was always so vulnerable to manipulation. Stephen i assume that you speak to your fellow longterm conservative republicans who have served multiple administrations. What are they saying behind closed doors . I mean there are highprofile things like the Lincoln Project and republicans against trump. But when the cameras are off, whats the conservative opinion of donald trump . Well, look, i think many of them, in fairness to trump, look at the comparison and, as i did in 2016 with Hillary Clinton, look at the comparison with joe biden, and say whatever we think of him, hes not going to be a democrat subject, especially these days, to the pressure of the left. Look, i bought that argument in 2016. Out the interest of the American People for his own reelection. What could be worse in Hillary Clinton or joe bidens philosophy than betraying your country to a hostile foreign leader . Trust me, i understand that point. What stephen well, will you answer that question . Im trying to. Stephen okay, im sorry. My apologies. Go ahead. What what what i thought in 2016 was we at least have to try it out. And so i voted for trump. Having experienced 17 months of working with him, i cant in good conscience do that again. And thats why im not going to vote for him, and im not going to vote for biden. Stephen i guess whats exasperating is there is absolutely nothing donald trump has done that is surprising to me. My rule is everything that you think about donald trump is probably true. Because hes not deep enough to get your socks wet in. Hes incredibly readable. Thats why when he ran casinos, the house lost. Theres nothing to learn about him. Thats why hes essentially a boring person. How did you not know beforehand that he was just callow . Because i couldnt believe it was that bad. And i know other people say they saw it from the beginning stephen but youre an international negotiator. How could you be naive . Youve dealt with the worst people in the world. Youve really insulted me now by calling me naive. Look, i thought it was possible to work with somebody. I thought surely they would want to learn about the complexities of arms control negotiations and that sort of thing. And as i detail in the book, that turned out not to be true. Stephen ambassador, we have to take a quick break, but stick around, everybody. Well be right back with more ambassador john bolton. Heres another cleaning tip from mr. Clean. Cleaning tough bathroom and kitchen messes with sprays and wipes can be a struggle. Theres an easier way. Try mr. Clean magic eraser. Just wet, squeeze and erase tough messes like bathtub soap scum. And cakedon grease from oven doors. Now mr. 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So i can just watch the show instead of reading the book . You know, if you turn on your subtitles. Thats almost reading. Get 1 gig internet with at t fiber for 49. 99a month for a year. No annualcontract. And now get hbo max included. Limited availability in select areas. Call 1. 877. Only. Att stephen hey, everybody, were back with ambassador john bolton, author of the room where it happened. Lets talk about corruption. At one point, you talked to bill barr, attorney general bill barr, about trumps willingness to interfere in Companies Like investigations to halt bank, Turkish Company zte, and huawei. You say it looked like obstruction of justice was a way of life for the president. Is the president corrupt . Well, i think what he has done consistently and its certainly a form of corruption is use the legitimate powers of the United States government for personal advantage. I dont think its corruption in the financial sense. I think its corruption for political power. I think thats in part what was happening in the ukraine scenario. And i think it was happening in these in these others as well. Now, i have to say, i know bits and pieces of what happened. But i certainly dont know the entire story. And its entirely possible theres more thats taken place, not just in the International Field but in the domestic field, that im completely unaware of. Stephen well, i would i would submit, for lack of a better word, that the financial gain has nothing to do with corruption. Its personal gain of any kind if you abuse your office to do so. And do you think that should be investigated . Yes, i these are this is the reason that i passed on what i knew, what i had seen to the attorney general. I passed it on to the white house counsel. I wasnt trying to do everybody elses job for them. I had plenty i was responsible for. And i felt that that i had i had done what i should do. I told others on my staff at different points to make sure the lawyers were informed, talked to others in the white house. And thats what i did. Stephen and as far as you know, did bill barr take any action . Well, i dont know, but i wouldnt expect to know. I dont think i need to be kept informed if there is investigations under way. Whether there are or not i dont know. Stephen you criticized pompeo, giuliani, and mnuchin. If you had to pick one to kick off the island . Whos the worst . Lets dish, girl. I think i detail many of the differences with the people youve named. I think i think the one who did the most policy damage was steve mnuchin. I think stephen oh, really . I think he was unwilling to put adequate pressure on maduro in venezuela, on china, on russia, on turkey, on north korea. Stephen you call him something unforgivable. You say hes basically a democrat. Thats, i think, very clear. Stephen whats worse, him or giuliani, who you called a hand grenade . Well, look, rudy is not part of the government, and that is that is that is an applesto oranges comparison. But i think a problem that the president was continually relying on people who were not part of his administration, and it was it was a functioning of Governmental Authority outside of the normal channels. Stephen ambassador we have to take a quick break. Stick around everybody, when we come back, ill ask the ambassador about ukraine, impeachment and why he never testified. Stick around. Capital one knows life doesnt update you about your credit card. So meet eno. The capital one assistant that looks out for charges that might surprise you and helps you fix them. Whats in your wallet . Its like walking into the Chocolate Factory and you won a golden ticket. All of these are face masks. This looks like a bottle of vodka. But when we first got these, we were like whoa [laughing] my threeyearold, when we get a box delivered, screams mommys work mommys work. 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If you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. Common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. If youre living with hiv, keep loving who you are. And ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. Who knows where that button is . I dont have silent. Everyone does right up here. It happens to all of us. We buy a new home, and we turn into our parents. What i do is help new homeowners overcome this. What is that, an adjustable spanner . Good choice, steve. Okay, dont forget youre not assisting him. If ye wherit you have too many. Who else reads books about submarines . My dad. Yeah. Oh, those are progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. Look at that. Sweetnsour, spicy buffalo, tangy bbq. Each mcnugget, a chance to diversify your sauce portfolio. 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Everyone is saying, like, if there was anyone out there republican senators Lindsey Graham and other people saying, if there was somebody in the room who could tell us that that happened, this would be a different story. How did it feel to know that you were that person while everyone was asking that question . Look, i think i think the impeachment effort went into a ditch long before that point. I think the way the House Democrats structured it, they were looking for a partisan fight. They pushed republicans who might have been willing in the tradition of watergate, sam ervin and howard baker, might have been willing to look at the bigger picture. They pushed them away. They created a partyline vote in the house and they guarantee a partyline vote, essentially, in the senate. So this was a huge strategic failure by the democrats. And i think and i believe then and i believe now that whether i had testified in the house or the senate because of the nature of the proceedings, it would it would have been ignored. It would not have made any difference, and what i did have to say it would have been buried. Stephen but my question was, knowing thats what people were looking for, so much was spilled over, could anyone tie trump specifically saying this tit for tat, and knowing you were that person, what was it like to sit on that information and not share it . Well, i felt like the best thing to do at that point was to make sure the real judges of president ial performance, who are, after all, the American People, should hear it. I thought this impeachment effort was doomed almost from the start. I think it was just based on a huge miscalculation. Stephen whats the miscalculation . The miscalculation that they could take a very narrow subject and ram it through quickly, which o Donald Trumps strategy. He wanted a very narrow trial in the senate, rammed through quickly, and thats what he got. Stephen do you believe that that actual narrow subject was an Impeachable Offense . You told usa today as a senator you would have voted to convict. I probably would have. Although, again, i still dont think i certainly dont believe i know everything that was going on in ukraine or that, frankly, may still be going on in ukraine at the behest of the president. Stephen do you think if you learned more, it would be good stuff or bad stuff . Take a guess. Bad stuff. What we dont know will hurt us. Stephen i guess my question was, because it was presented poorly in your opinion, and too narrowly, isnt that like somesa, n know this guy murdered a lot of i nt tfying him a in this rder they found. Let me be clear about what the problem was. It wasnt simply the scope. It was the way the House Democrats treated house republicans. I believe that there were some substantial number who would have been open to a fair consideration of a range of issues. That was never part of the democratic plan. So that many republicans who were no fans of donald trump ended up in the position of defending him. Now, you can argue about whether that was right or wrong, but thats the fact. You know its the fact. You saw stephen so you think the republicans would have been open to other charges or other investigations, even though everything they did was to stymie the investigations . We have historical evidence about how an impeachment process can work called watergate, where democrats worked with republicans and where the key people who eventually forced nixon out were republicans. Jim buckley of new york, elected on the conservative party line, was the first republican to call for Richard Nixon to resign. That was something, if the democrats really wanted impeachment and conviction, thats the approach they would have followed. Stephen but, sir, i understand your argument, but thats like saying youve already said that it was a fair case against him and it was an Impeachable Offense. All youre saying is todays Republican Party, far from not being invited into a bipartisan process, are merely so toxic and so partisan, that even though they know that he is guilty they will not do what is best for the American People . No, i think it was the democrats who created this scenario. They wanted to hurry so that the impeachment process did not affect the democratic president ial nomination. Stephen i agree with you there. That was a mistake. Okay, but that is a political consideration. I understand what they were saying. But they were using a governmental power, probably the house of representatives most important governmental power, the power of impeachment, and they torqued it around their own political interest. Doesnt that sound a lot like donald trump to you . Stephen uh, but theirs is constitutionally mandated. His is for his own personal benefit. He was using stephen theres a difference. No, he was using the Security Assistance and torquing that around to demand that the ukrainians launch a political investigation into his opponents. Stephen to benefit himself. For his political convenience. And what the democrats were doing were worried about their own political convenience. This was a huge lost opportunity which the democrats caused on their own. Stephen it may be, it may be, sir, but i think thats a false equivalency. Theyre prosecuting him for a crime thats impeachable. He is using his political power to benefit himself and his family. To me it was a huge lost opportunity by the democrats because they saw the issue much too narrowly, and in much too parisan a fashion. Stephen well, i know youve got to go in just a moment, i just have a couple of more questions if you dont mind, sir. Sure. Stephen okay, great. The turning point in watergate was when the tapes were revealed. Would you agree there . Well, i think that was one of the turning points. But there were several. And it was important stephen but after the tapes were revealed thats when the republican senators marched over to the white house and said, this is over. There was an adequate basis of belief that had been established on a long record compiled over a long period of time. This was not a quickmoving process, as we saw in the trump impeachment. Stephen i understand. I grant you that. But what i would say to you is that isnt your book the tapes . Well stephen arent you the reliable witness . Look, i have put out a book that certainly has a lot of opinions and conclusions in it, but which i wrote mostly to lay out facts. And despite the Trump Administration effort to stop the publication of the book, the facts are now out there. And theyre out there in what i think is the most important Constitutional Court of all, the American People. Theyll make up their minds in november. 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Ambassador, fourth of july is ato you believe the patriotic response to donald trump is . Well, i dont think this is part of the problem with donald trump is that every question that confronts the American People is converted into, are you for donald trump or against donald trump . Now, thats the way donald trump looks at the world. Hes either a winner or a loser. Stephen how would you reframe it . How would you reframe that question . I think the United States has got to break free from this mindset that youre either for trump or against him, youre either positive or negative. Theres a lot more at stake here. The United States faces a lot of we face a lot of challenges domestically. I want to see both for the country, and ill say clearly, for the Republican Party, to cut this albatross off from around our neck. Thats why im not going to vote for him in november. I wish there were some way to get a conservative republican on the ballot in november. Stephen you talk in the book about donald trump talking to xi jinping about, as you describe, concentration camps being built for the uighurs. And trump gave a thumbsup. Knowing the chinese are building it might be something the International Community would do. Knowing they are giving a thumbsup approving the detainment of people in concentration camps in china, why not tell us then . What is the moral imperative in your mind then, for you . Look, theres always a tradeoff for officials in government, particularly senior officials, of how long you stay in to try to advise the president to move in the right direction, as your conscience tells you, versus leaving to say what theyre doing wrong. And i had i had a series of i edor 1ntu st tanyti for not staying long enough and staying in. Theres a large Alumni Association of people who have left the Trump Administration under one circumstance or another. And i dont criticize any of them. This is a hard decision to make. Until youve been in the shoes of somebody in that situation, its easy for outsiders to say, you made the wrong move. Ive tried to lay out as much as i can in the book what my thinking was. And, you know, people will accept it or reject it. But i didnt decide to resign because of the uighurs at that point. Stephen if donald trump loses in november, how quickly will the g. O. P. And conservatives say, he wasnt a true conservative . Very quickly, i hope. One of the reasons i wrote the book, i do think after november, whether trump wins or loses, the Republican Party has to have a significant conversation about what its future is. I hope its with trump and trumps influences removed. Well have to see how that goes but thats what i intend to try to participate in. Stephen knowing what you know and what youre telling the world with your book now, how do yo feel about the conservatives who still support the president . Look, i think there are a lot of reasons why they are. I go back to 2016. I voted for him. Im not going to try to hide that fact. I wish others had broken or who are breaking with him now, it would certainly make my job a lot easier today. But were going to have a reckoning after the election, whether trump wins or loses at that point. Stephen is this a farewell tour for you . Certainly youre not going to work for a democratic administration, and youre burning a lot of bridges with this book. Is this your goodbye to Public Service in washington, d. C. . Well, it may be my goodbye to serving in the government. But i think, particularly if if the democrats win for the next four years, but the bigger philosophical questions remain and need to be answered the right way. I didnt work for Barry Goldwater in 1964 or Ronald Reagan in 1980 or the two bush administrations to end with the Republican Party being the Republican Party of donald trump. Thats not the end im going to accept. Stephen well, sir, thank you so much for being here. The book the room where it happened is available now. Ambassador john bolton, everybody. Well be right back. Thanks for being here, sir. Hi. Were glad you came in. Whats on your mind . Can you help keep these guys protected online . Easy. Connect to the xfi gateway. What about wireless data options for the family . You can customize and save. What about internet speeds that can keep up with my gaming . Lets hook you up with the Fastest Internet from xfinity. And now with our stores reopening, were putting Healthy Practices in place. Come visit a store today. Stop in or book an appointment online at a time that works for you. Now thats simple, easy, awesome. Ask. Shop. Discover at your local xfinity store today. Stephen now stick around for james corden, but first, lets say goodnight with some music from jon batiste and stay human. Captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org captioning sponsored by cbs the late late show, oh, oh the late late show oh, oh its the late late show james good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the late late show. I hope you have had an okay day. I hope are you holding up all right. How are you doing, reg