Trump ‘asked if Russia owned Finland and said it would be “cool” to invade Venezuela,’ ex-adviser Bolton’s book claims
PRESIDENT Donald Trump once asked wondered whether Finland was part of Russia and said it would be "cool" to invade Venezuela, according to John Bolton's bombshell memoir.
Trump's former national security adviser describes the exchange between the president and his then-chief of staff John Kelly in The Room Where it Happened, which is scheduled to be released on June 23.
Bolton's book is the first tell-all kind of memoir from a senior official involved in highly-sensitive discussions on national security, reported.
Last night , telling the Wall Street Journal: "He is a liar ... everybody in the White House hated John Bolton.”
He also called Bolton a "a washed-up guy" who broke the law" in a separate interview with Fox.
Although the US didn't recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as the country's leader, Bolton reportedly described Trump's hesitance to support opposition leader Juan Guaido even after Guaido declared himself president.
Trump co-signed Bolton's proposal to say the US recognized Guaido rather than Maduro as Venezuela's president.
But within 30 hours, Bolton claims the president said Guaido appeared weak like a "kid" compared to "tough" Maduro and considered reversing his decision, according to the Post.
Reports claim Bolton loosely confirmed allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rival to help him win re-election in November.
Bolton said Trump was uninterested in discussing denuclearization efforts with and viewed it as "an exercise in publicity," adding that the president was more pressed about befriending its leader Kim Jong Un.
Trump decided to give Kim gifts - including an autographed copy of Elton John's Rocket Man album - which violated US sanctions, the Post reported.
During his first summit with Kim in 2018, Trump repeatedly asked the leader whether he'd received the CD during Pompeo's visit to North Korea, per the report.
But Pompeo hadn't seen Kim, and Trump apparently prioritized getting the CD to the North Korean leader for several months.
Bolton is a controversial political figure - have chided him for not voluntarily testifying during and accused him of using his knowledge to profit off of his book deal.
The 71-year-old served as Trump's national security adviser for roughly 17 months before he was sacked last fall.
He and the president had reportedly fallen out after disagreeing on foreign policy changes in Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea.