Former national security adviser John Bolton on Friday said he believes former President Donald Trump would have withdrawn from NATO in his second term, a move Russian President Vladimir Putin was "waiting" on.
During a Washington Post Live event, Bolton was asked about his memoir in which he claimed Trump wanted to leave NATO in 2018. The Post's opinions editor Michael Duffy then pressed how close Trump was to leaving.
"Yeah, I had my heart in my throat at that NATO meeting. I didn't know what the president would do. He called me up to his seat seconds before he gave his speech. And I said, 'Look, go right up to the line, but don't go over it,'" Bolton told reporters.
"I sat back down, I had no idea what he'd do," he added. "I thought he'd put his foot over it, but at least he didn't withdraw then. In a second Trump term, I think he may well have withdrawn from NATO, and I think Putin was waiting for that."
But, as Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesperson, puts it, according to The Hill, "John Bolton is just mad he was fired ... President Trump led America into one of the most peaceful times in U.S. history."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked what she thought of Bolton's comments said most Americans are "grateful" President Joe Biden's tactics are different from Trump's.
"I saw those comments - you know, another reason why the American people are grateful - the majority of the American people - that President Biden has not taken a page out of his predecessors' playbook as it relates to global engagement and global leadership, because, certainly, we could be in a different place," Psaki stated.
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