Bolton called Trump an “aberration in American politics” and rejected the idea that the entire Republican Party was responsible for Trump’s behavior and repeated dismantling of the rules.
“I don’t think you can attribute Trump to everyone else,” said Bolton. “Trying to blame everyone else, I think, is just more Washington policy. The focus here should be on the real problem, the center of the problem, and that is Donald Trump.
Bolton urged Republicans to be more rigorous in selecting their presidential nominees, ensuring that they have “real character” and “real philosophy, as opposed to people like Donald Trump”.
When asked whether he thinks Republicans supported Trump’s false claims of widespread electoral bad faith – the driving ideology behind Wednesday’s attack on Capitol Hill – Bolton said he “does not see any reason why they are not to be held accountable”. Tur asked specifically about the Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz, who led the Senate’s efforts to challenge the results of the Electoral College, but Bolton hesitated to issue individual judgments.
“I think individual Republicans will have to make decisions if they support the individuals who participated in this effort to prevent the election from being certified. And I think there is still a lot to be seen in their behavior,” said Bolton.
Bolton has spoken openly about his dismay during his time at the Trump White House. In his post-mortem book, “The Room Where it Happened,” Bolton portrayed Trump as unfamiliar with the basic facts and driven above all by re-election – often leading to cases that Bolton said justified an investigation into the 2019 impeachment investigation in the camera. The White House tried to prevent publication of the book in the courts of the time, but was unsuccessful. The book was released last June.