John Bolton Reveals How Little Donald Trump Actually Knew About Russia

Former President Donald Trump’s grasp on the geography of Russia wasn’t exactly first class, according to his former national security adviser John Bolton.

Trump “barely knew where Ukraine was” and once asked if Finland was part of Russia, Bolton told Newsmax host Rob Schmitt on Tuesday.

Bolton recalled Trump’s stunning lack of knowledge while countering Schmitt’s claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not invade Ukraine during Trump’s presidency because Trump took a “very tough stance” on the country.

Trump “did not” take a tough stance on Russia, responded Bolton.

The Trump White House did sanction Russia, he continued, but “in almost every case” the restrictions were imposed “with Trump complaining about it, saying we were being too hard.”

“It is just not accurate to say that Trump’s behavior somehow deterred the Russians,” Bolton said. “I think the evidence is that Russia didn’t feel that their military was ready.”

Bolton failed to speak out against Trump during the 17 months he served in his administration, even remaining silent during Trump’s first impeachment for misconduct in the Ukraine scandal. He penned a critical memoir of his time in the Trump administration, which the Department of Justice attempted to block.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

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