John Bolton denies reports he would vote for Joe Biden after saying he cannot support Trump
Former national security adviser John Bolton has denied reports that he would vote for Joe Biden in the US election in November.
This came in response to an article in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday which alleged that Mr Bolton intended to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee.
Sarah Tinsley, a spokesperson for Mr Bolton, told the American news website Axios: "This statement is incorrect. The Ambassador never said he planned to vote for Joe Biden.
"He has consistently said in recent days he will be writing in the name of a conservative Republican. Let there be no doubt — he will not be voting for Trump or Biden,” she added.
The former aide, who worked for the Trump administration between 2018 and 2019, also made it clear he would not support Mr Trump’s re-election.
In an interview to promote his book, The Room Where It Happened, which is highly critical of the incumbent president, Mr Bolton told ABC News: “I don’t think he should be president. I don’t think he’s fit for office. I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job.
“I don’t think he’s a conservative Republican. I’m not going to vote for him in November. I’m certainly not going to vote for Joe Biden either. I’m going to figure out a conservative Republican to write in,” he added.
He also told the ABC News journalist Martha Raddatz during the interview he hoped Mr Trump would be remembered as a one term president.
"We can get over one term — I have absolute confidence, even if it's not the miracle of a conservative Republican being elected in November. Two terms, I'm more troubled about,” he said.
Mr Bolton’s tell-all book, which comes out on Tuesday, describes his experiences as Mr Trump’s third national security adviser. He was ousted from the role in September 2019 after clashing with the president.
The president has attacked Mr Bolton in recent days, calling him “a washed up guy” in an interview with Fox News and writing on Twitter that he is "a disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war."
Last week, a judge denied the Trump administration's attempt to block the book.
Read more
Kim Jong-un 'gets a huge laugh' out of Trump, Bolton says
Trump put re-election ahead of national security, says Bolton
2020 election is 'last guardrail' to shield US from Trump, Bolton says
Bolton isn’t the only Republican making life difficult for Trump
Judge refuses Trump administration bid to block John Bolton's book
