President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton called his ex-boss “old and tired,” encouraging the Republican Party to back someone new in 2024.
Mr Bolton, who has long had a contentious relationship with Mr Trump since leaving office, said too many people had turned off the former president “in their brains”.
“Even if they liked his style, liked his approach, liked his politics, liked everything about him, they won’t lose and they’re afraid given the results on [Nov. 8]that if he gets the nomination, not only will he lose the general election, but he will take an awful lot of Republican candidates with him,” Mr. Bolton told The Guardian.
Mr. Bolton has his own PAC and super PAC where he will raise funds for Republicans, although he has not indicated who he would support in the next presidential election.
However, Mr. Bolton praised Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for his strong midterm victory, saying he had “run very well” as governor.
“He won the re-election [Nov. 8] by a large majority. Many people see him as the candidate of the next generation. That’s one of Trump’s biggest problems — his actions are old and tired,” Mr. Bolton said.
Mr Bolton served as Mr Trump’s national security adviser from 2018 to 2019 before being forced out of the White House. He previously served as the US ambassador to the UN under the Bush administration.
After leaving office, Mr Bolton published a book that called Mr Trump “unstable” and “stunningly uninformed”.
Mr. Trump has since painted Mr. Bolton as a disgruntled employee who was unhappy about the firing.
“Many of the ridiculous statements he attributes to me were never made, pure fiction. Just trying to pay back for being fired like the sick puppy that he is,” Mr. Trump said.
