Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, sharply criticised the US president for his aggressive threats against Greenland in an interview with Euronews.
“I think just the talk of using military force is costing the US in terms you can’t even calculate, in terms of trust and good faith and our reputation,” Bolton said on Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With.
“I think it’s a disaster for the United States,” he added, “and it would be infinitely worse if he did try to use military force (…) there’d be a political earthquake in this country.”
Bolton quoted the latest polling in the US by Reuters/Ipsos, according to which only 8% of respondents favour the use of force to take Greenland.
“I’d like to ask that 8% if they even know where Greenland is,” Bolton said only hours before a Danish delegation was due to meet top US officials in the White House for an exchange of views about the issue.
In contrast, more than 80% of Greenlanders oppose joining the US, according to a separate poll.
Bolton is a foreign policy hawk who served several Republican administrations in top positions.
From April 2018 to September 2019, he was Trump’s national security adviser. His hard-line reputation on Iran, North Korea, China and Venezuela at the time aligned with Trump’s confrontational rhetoric.
But then, despite their surface alignment, their governing styles and policy goals clashed.
After Bolton resigned, their relationship turned into open hostility. Both accused each other of “incompetence”.
Bolton has since become one of Trump’s most prominent Republican critics, particularly on NATO, Russia and Ukraine, as well as democratic norms and the rule of law.
Bolton has said Trump is unfit to be president, even while remaining conservative on policy.
Watch the full interview on Euronews at 19.45 CET on Wednesday.