Two short years ago, Lou Dobbs praised John Bolton for “his intellect, his capacity, his experience, his talent” and hailed Donald Trump’s decision to make him national security adviser as “a great day for America.” But since Bolton’s post–White House turn against the president, complete with the publication this week of a tell-all condemning his old boss on multiple counts, the Fox Business host now views Bolton as nothing but a “treacherous” liar.
In preparation for the Tuesday release of Bolton’s The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, Dobbs said on Friday that Bolton’s “half-truths and falsehoods” are being “facilitated by [his] good friends in the left-wing national media” to attack Trump. He then laughed off the memoir, saying, “What a man will do for $2 million. My, my, my.” He also mocked “the left-wing national media, radical Dems, and the RINOs” for considering Bolton’s book to be factual, given their previous opposition to Bush-era U.N. ambassador: “They have all decided that the man they so hated and distrusted is now a respected, honest voice as far as the left is now concerned.”
A similar about-face has occurred across the network. Before Bolton joined the Trump administration, he was employed as a Fox News contributor for more than a decade, frequently featured on both warmongering and fluff segments that ranged from calls for the relentless bombing of Iran to Bolton shaking his hips on Fox & Friends while testing out a “Balance Board Designed for Fun & Easy Workout.”
In 2018, Sean Hannity said that Trump’s hiring of Bolton was “good news” and a “huge improvement,” adding, “He will serve the president, right, and his agenda.” But last week, the top Fox host and informal presidential adviser insisted he does not “trust anything [Bolton] does and says.” Likewise, while Laura Ingraham described the Bolton appointment as Trump “doing what he should be doing, namely getting the people in place…who are going to support his agenda,” the host sneered at Bolton on Friday, describing him as a greedy “swamp” creature. “He wants to make big money,” she added. “Okay, he can go make big money but try not being a creep.”
The soon-to-be published claims by Bolton, who was employed in the White House for 17 months, include accusing the president of personally “pleading with [Chinese President Xi Jinping] to ensure he’d win”; telling Xi that his regime’s internment of China’s Muslim minority population was “the ‘right thing to do’”; suggesting that it would be “cool” for the U.S. to invade and take over Venezuela because it is “really part of the United States”; and showing blatant ignorance about basic international issues, such as believing Finland to be a Russian state. During his press tour for the book, Bolton confirmed that he won’t vote for Trump in November, saying he is dangerous and “unfit for office.” (He’ll make a stop Tuesday on Fox News, sitting down with anchor Bret Baier). The president has punched back by calling his ex-employee a “liar,” “wacko,” and “disgruntled boring fool” who “made up” the claims laid out in his book.
Even as its top opinion hosts push Trump’s line about Bolton profiting off of lies, Fox News has attempted to have it both ways by dipping into parts of the memoir that seemingly paint the president in a favorable light. “Bolton’s Book Reveals Trump’s Caution and Humanity,” read one Fox chyron last week, referencing an excerpt that detailed why Trump avoided military escalation with Iran.
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