John Bolton: 'I’m extraordinarily distressed' by Trump charges
Former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton blasted the charges against the former president as "weaker than [he] feared."
As former President Donald Trump narrows the field of his prospective running mates, a senior official from his previous administration says he may only ask two questions of each candidate before he makes his decision.
Former national security adviser John Bolton told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday that he thinks the questions that are most important to the presumptive GOP nominee are, "No. 1, do you think the 2020 election was stolen? And number 2, ‘If I told you to do what I told Mike Pence to do on Jan. 6, would you do it?'"
It has been widely reported that three names remain in play for the Republican VP spot: Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Vance and Burgum are considered front-runners with Rubio more of a long shot.
THE VEEPSTAKES GOES 'APPRENTICE': WILL TRUMP REALLY PICK RUBIO, VANCE OR BURGUM?
Former President Trump's veepstakes has apparently whittled itself down to three candidates: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. (Left: Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Center: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Saul Martinez/Getty Images)
The former cabinet member said the right answers may move any of those candidates up in Trump’s view, but said at a personal cost, "it would be a great loss of integrity for any of those people if they said ‘Yes’ to both those questions," Bolton said.
"I think the highest priority is absolute personal loyalty to him," Bolton said of Trump, reminding viewers that although former Vice President Mike Pence was loyal to the former President, on January 6, 2021 when Trump supporters descended on the Capitol, Pence was the one person among senior members of the administration that stood up to Trump saying he did the "right thing even when the rest of them failed."
He went on to say of the current VP hopefuls, "I don’t know whether these three are capable of doing that, honestly,".
TRUMP VP CHOICES ARE 'EMBARRASSMENT OF RICHES,' THE CHOICE IS IMMINENT: JASON MILLER
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a Buckeye Values PAC Rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on March 16, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump has hinted that he will announce his choice for running mate at next week’s Republican National Convention. The former president even said he has a good idea who it will be.
Bolton thinks his former boss shouldn’t make the announcement at the RNC next week while Biden’s campaign is still dealing with the question of his mental fitness and ability to lead the country, let alone beat his predecessor in a general election.
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"There’s no news that is gonna come out of the Republican National Convention, other than the vice presidential nomination. Why waste it in a week when the Democrats may still be talking about whether Joe Biden is competent to be president," Bolton said.
While it’s widely believed that Vance or Burgum will be the former president’s choice, Bolton warned, "I think what we have to remember with Trump is, it’s never final ’til it’s final and then sometimes it’s still not final,"
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign.
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