As we talk about Trump's
poll number is going up,
despite all of his legal troubles.
There's actually an NBC report
that says get this only for of his 44
cabinet members have even endorsed his
latest run for president.
That's just four people
out of a possible 44 former AG bill Barr
telling NBC
when asked
who he would support
in a Trump Biden rematch.
Well quote
I'll jump off that bridge
when I get to it. Unquote.
I want to bring in
John Bolton, former Trump
national security adviser,
who is also a former U.N. ambassador.
Ambassador, it's good to see you.
But I have to tell you,
I mean, those odds, no.
One, not two. Good. Four out of 44.
We'll get to that in a second.
But you've been pretty clear
of your own critique
and criticism of Donald Trump
but I wonder if you were asked
the same question
that Bill Barr was asked,
if it came down to a Trump Biden matchup,
what would you do?
Well, I would do the
same thing I did in 20, 20.
I live in Maryland, which permits.
Right. And voting.
I always like to vote
for a conservative Republican
Between Biden and Trump,
there was no conservative on the ballot.
So I wrote in the name of
of a conservative
and I would do the same in 2024.
Who is that name?
I haven't told anybody but.
But someday I know. But I've not.
I've not revealed it to me.
It's a good night to do so. John. Bolton.
I don't know.
We should just go ahead
and share every vote for each other
all of a sudden.
Did you write name in?
Was your own name written in?
I did not write my own name.
And no, it was
it was a living Republican conservative.
Oh, the plot thickens.
Let me ask you this.
Do you foresee a time when your own name
might be on the ballot
for this 20, 24 race
Well, I'm still considering it.
If you look at the New York Times
poll that came out today
was Trump at 54%.
And only Ron DeSantis in double digits.
I don't think anybody has caught
fire yet.
It's entirely possible one
or more of them
will by the time of the debate
later in August.
But but right now I don't see that path.
But we should give them a chance.
But I think August late August
could be a very important point
for the Republican Party.
I really think
people should be saying
that if the candidates
haven't shown a chance to defeat Trump,
they ought to seriously consider
getting out at that point.
And maybe other people
who have not entered
the race should consider coming in.
So we'll look to hear from you in August,
perhaps stumbling on that very notion.
But let me ask you.
Given the odds, right.
I mean,
four out of 44 former cabinet members
supporting him.
I mean, what should Americans
take away from that fact?
I mean, this is
stunning in modern
or really any American history.
What do you take away from the fact that
four out of 44
Well, I
don't know exactly who the 44 were
who were surveyed,
but I would say this
I think in private, honest conversations,
almost all of Trump's cabinet members
and other
senior advisers
would say that
their conclusion
after watching him
during their time in office
is that Trump is not fit to be president.
It's not a question of
the drama or his personality or something
like that.
It's a question of his basic
lack of competence to do the job.
And I think people really don't
want to be out
front endorsing somebody
they know can't do the job.
Well, then why do you think it is
I mean,
there's one thing
to talk about competence.
Is there anything about
maybe availability, for example?
I mean, you know that
he is facing
a great number of legal troubles
on the overall bingo card of America.
I cannot imagine an RNC hopeful
who thought they would have
an opposing candidate
who had been impeached twice, twice
been indicted.
Maybe another one around the corner,
the mounting legal troubles.
And they can actually capitalize
on that or criticize it
And in fact,
you mentioned that new polling.
He's only gaining
ground around his rivals
even as all of this
starts to come to a head.
What is your view on that?
And is it inevitable,
given these numbers
and given
where we are right now,
that Donald Trump
will, in fact, secure the nomination
No, I think it's far from inevitable.
I think this poll may be his high point.
I think really the poll
could turn out to be an outlier.
I think there are a lot
more people
that are willing
to consider alternatives.
I think they rate the MAGA base
too highly, too large.
But I think that
what people are looking for
is a candidate
who will take Trump on
and really demonstrate
that to beat Trump,
you have to go after Trump.
Now, some of the candidates
are criticized saying Trump directly.
But I think it's not just
a question of criticism.
It's a question
of convincing people that Trump's
a second Trump term would be bad
for the country
and frankly, bad
for conservative principles. Remember?
Trump cannot serve a third term,
which means he's free
from any electoral constraint.
It would have been true
if he had been reelected in 2020.
It would be true if he wins in 24.
And once free
from those political constraints,
which were often
the only thing that brought him
to sensible decisions,
people who think he would be
more conservative in a second term
are going to be very disappointed
John Bolton, thank you
so much for joining.