One highlight came when Xi said he wanted to work with Trump for six more years, and Trump replied that people were saying that the two-term constitutional limit on presidents should be repealed for him.
Donald Trump’s approval rating has never edged above fifty-percent in any poll throughout the term of his presidency (the only President to fail to do so). He became President despite losing the popular vote by more than three million. No serious talk about amending the Constitution to once again allow more than two terms for a President has ever not included a condition that would prohibit any sitting President at the time from taking advantage of this change.
With all these facts in mind, it is safe to assume that when Trump vaguely mentions “people” here he is, in effect, talking about himself. This excerpt is further proof that the very same tactics of sales persuasion Trump uses on the mass of his supporters—referring nebulously to “some people” who are “saying things” as a projection of personal wish fulfillment—is one he is not shy about trying on people with the experience to know better and see through the ploy.
“Oh, are you a nuclear power?”
Bolton writes of a meeting between Trump and the British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018. During this meeting, one of May’s officials in the room made reference to British nuclear power. Trump’s reply to this was apparently one of surprise as he actually then asked the question quoted above. Bolton underlines the distinction here to dismiss potential arguments supporting the Trump by asserting that Trump’s question “was not intended as a joke.”
That Trump might be joking seems arguable considering that England became the third nation to successfully test a nuclear weapon in 1952. On the other hand, Bolton’s story of Trump being ignorant of not just the details, but the entire story also aligns with his ignorance about history and the rest of the world which ranges from confusing Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III to failing to properly pronounce the country of Nepal.
“These people should be executed. They are scumbags.”
Is Trump talking about Islamic terrorists here? Perhaps, he is referencing the apparatus under Kim Jong-Un responsible for keeping an entire nation in bondage to the a maniacal leader constantly threatening to kickstart World War III? Maybe he had a change of heart about the “fine people” who belong to white supremacist organizations and neo-Nazi groups that marched in Charlottesville while chanting anti-Semitic and racist slogans? Who among all the bad people in the world could Donald Trump be saying this about in the presence of his National Security Advisor, John Bolton?
The answer: American journalists. Or, rather, American journalists with the temerity to report factual stories about the Trump administration. Digging deeper into this particularly egregious statement is that the very first amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom to the press. Topping that un-American, undemocratic sundae is the cherry on top: were it not for many of the same journalists that he refers to as “scumbags” the name Donald Trump would never have been known by too many people outside a realtor’s convention in Omaha. The inescapable truth is that Trump owes every ounce of his fame--and by extension, his political career--to the scumbags he wants to execute in impeachable violation of the First Amendment.
“This is a bad place to work, as you will find out.”
According to Brookings, as of June 19, 2020, the turnover rate among top officials in the Trump administration—not including Cabinet-level heads—stood at 88%. By any standard definition that is a staggeringly high number, but for a White House which is highly dependent upon efficiency, it blows the turnover numbers of all previous administrations out of the water. John Kelly was himself the second White House Chief of Staff in just six months and since he spoke these words of advice to Bolton, there have been two more serving in that position. Kelly’s warning went unheeded, of course, as Bolton acceptance the position of National Security Advisor and then stayed on the job for 520 days before becoming himself part of the 88%.
