The fallout from John Bolton’s book has one benefit for beleaguered Trump aides — a respite from damaging questions about racial tensions, the coronavirus, and a shattered economy, according to former officials, who say the complex foreign policy allegations will be forgotten by November.
These sources say the campaign is more vulnerable to questions of race or bungling the COVID-19 response than claims made by a man they can paint as a disgruntled former employee.
Bolton’s 577-page book, The Room Where It Happened, offers a damning portrait of President Trump. It depicts a president who put himself before country, who “pleaded” with China’s Xi Jinping to help his reelection prospects, and who engaged in “obstruction of justice as a way of life.”
As details emerged this week, Trump dismissed his former national security adviser as a “wacko” and his book as a “compilation of lies.”
“Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction,” he said. “Just trying to get even for firing him like the sick puppy he is!”
Wall-to-wall coverage has sidelined other stories, much to the delight of some Trump insiders.
“It knocks George Floyd and the race stuff from A block to B or C on all the news shows. That means it will no longer be driving the narrative, which is a net positive for Trump,” said a former official.
He said Bolton was an unsympathetic character and that voters made up their minds on matters closer to home.
“It’s why Trump’s numbers went up during the Ukraine stuff,” he said. “It’s too complicated, too messy. Bolton also makes a perfect adversary because he’s universally hated by the Left and Right at this point, and the feud with him allows Trump to remind voters that he’s the anti-war candidate in this election.”
Trump has endured a torrid few weeks. Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has a double-digit lead in national polls, while the president battles a coronavirus pandemic without end, and more than 100 cities exploded in protests after Floyd died in police custody.
He is due to resume campaign rallies on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, despite concerns it could create a spike in COVID-19 cases.
When Wacko John Bolton went on Deface the Nation and so stupidly said that he looked at the “Libyan Model” for North Korea, all hell broke out. Kim Jong Un, who we were getting along with very well, went “ballistic”, just like his missiles – and rightfully so….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
Robert Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University, said the Bolton allegations were damaging but not as harmful as they would have been if they emerged during impeachment hearings.
He asked: “What’s least bad for the president here? Would any leader prefer to be dealing with a pandemic, race riots, and an economy that is in a depression — or calling a former administration official a liar?”
“The issues around Bolton, well, the battle lines are already drawn.”
It will be old news by November, Shapiro added, much as impeachment is now.
Inside the White House, officials are also said to be confident that voters rarely make their decision at the ballot box based on foreign policy. Nor do they believe Bolton carries much sway beyond the political salons of Washington.
Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said the fast-moving news cycle meant its headlines would disappear before the weekend was out — extended only in the event of congressional hearings.
“The shocking content of the book will fall on deaf ears if you are a Trump supporter, or it’s going to bolster your concerns about the president if you are against it,” he said.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany took a dismissive tone when asked during Friday’s briefing why the president had hired Bolton when he now calls him a “wacko.”
“John Bolton repeatedly praised the president then turned,” she said before referring to reviews that have panned the former official’s prose. “He’s been widely criticized by the New York Times for his book.”
Another former official who worked at the White House during Bolton’s tenure said there was no doubt his claims were an easier PR matter than other existing crises.
“But no one is walking around the West Wing with a smile on their face because John Bolton is being an asshole,” he added.
