John Bolton Admits to Having Planned Coups Abroad
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John Bolton, former national security adviser under Donald Trump, admitted Tuesday to having planned several “coups” abroad.
Bolton, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, said it’s wrong to claim the former president orchestrated a “carefully planned coup d’état against the Constitution” on January 6, calling it a “once in a lifetime occurrence.”
Tapper pressed back, saying “one doesn’t have to brilliant to attempt a coup.”
Jake Tapper: “One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”
John Bolton: “I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’etat, not here, but other places, it takes a lot of work.” pic.twitter.com/REyqh3KtHi
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 12, 2022
“I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’états, not here, but, you know, other places, it takes a lot of work,” Bolton responded. He added that Trump was “stumbling around from one idea to another” and therefore did not plan a coup.
Tapper followed up on Bolton’s response and asked if the coups were “successful.”
“I’m not going to get into the specifics,” Bolton said, mentioning that he wrote about Venezuela in his book, which turned out to be “not successful.”
Jake Tapper follows up on John Bolton’s past coup planning.
Bolton: “I’m not going to get into the specifics, but–”
Tapper: “Successful coups?”
Bolton brings up the failed Venezuelan coup, prompting Tapper to add: “I feel like there’s other stuff you’re not telling me.” pic.twitter.com/bJAa07h8Ow
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) July 12, 2022
Bolton’s memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” outlined his time at the National Security Council and the administration’s efforts to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who seized power illegitimately in 2019.
Trump considered a “military option” to deal with the Maduro regime and thought about meeting Maduro in person, Bolton claimed in the book.
Bolton also described in his memoir thinking of a plan to “overthrow” Maduro urgently, and the ultimate failure due to the administration’s hesitation, which brought in a Cuban presence funded by Russia into the country.
