Former White House national security adviser John Bolton floated a 2024 presidential bid on Monday, saying he is "prepared" to get into the race if other potential Republican candidates do not "repudiate" former President Trump.
"When you challenge the Constitution itself, that is un-American," Bolton tweeted Monday. "If the current GOP presidential candidates don’t repudiate Trump, I’m prepared to get in the race."
Bolton’s tweet came after an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" Sunday, in which he slammed Trump for comments made last week about the "termination" of parts of the Constitution. Trump's comments came after Elon Musk released the "Twitter Files," which showed internal communications about the censorship of the New York Post’s story October 2020 story about Hunter Biden's personal laptop.
"So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?" Trump posted on social media.
"A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution," he continued. "Our great 'Founder' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!"
Bolton said he was "absolutely" considering a presidential run due to the lack of condemnation from other Republicans mulling their own presidential bids.
"I think to be a presidential candidate you can’t simply say, ‘I support the Constitution.’ You have to say, ‘I would oppose people who would undercut it,’" Bolton said. "When you challenge the Constitution itself the way Trump has done, that is un-American."
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Bolton predicted that "nearly 95%" of Republican voters "disagree that Donald Trump is more important than the Constitution," but he said he is "afraid there are some that would stick with Trump on this."
"I actually think most Republican elected officials in Washington disagree with Trump on this, but they’re intimidated," Bolton said. "This is the time that there’s strength in numbers. The more people who tell the truth, the easier it is for everybody else."
Bolton said his decision to launch a presidential campaign for 2024 would depend on the nature of statements from other potential Republican candidates.
"If I don’t see it, then I’m going to seriously consider getting in," he said, adding that the window for his decision-making will be "pretty short."
"We’ve already got one declared candidate in the Republican Party who doesn’t believe in the Constitution," Bolton said. "This is serious business."
Bolton resigned from the Trump administration in September 2019. He became Trump’s third national security adviser in April 2018, replacing H.R. McMaster, who had been appointed earlier in the administration to replace Michael Flynn.
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The two had well-known disagreements on a range of hot-button national security issues – most significantly on plans for a troop drawdown in Afghanistan during the Trump administration. Bolton also advocated caution on Trump's strategy with North Korea and against Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. Bolton also led a quiet effort inside the administration and with allies abroad to convince the president to keep U.S. forces in Syria to counter ISIS and Iranian influence in the region.
Before serving in the Trump administration, Bolton worked in the administrations of former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and served as a Bush lawyer during the 2000 Florida recount. Bolton also served as a U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006 and as an undersecretary of state for arms control and international security from 2001 to 2005.
On Monday, Trump posted to his Truth Social account that the "Fake News is actually trying to convince the American People that I said I wanted to ‘terminate’ the Constitution."
"This is simply more DISINFORMATION & LIES, just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, and all of their other HOAXES & SCAMS," he wrote. "What I said was that when there is ‘MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION,’ as has been irrefutably proven in the 2020 Presidential Election, steps must be immediately taken to RIGHT THE WRONG."
He added: "Only FOOLS would disagree with that and accept STOLEN ELECTIONS. MAGA!"
Musk, reacting to Trump's comments, tweeted Sunday: "The Constitution is greater than any President. End of story."
