The Political Insider

This week the January 6th Committee spent a fair amount of time attempting to prove former President Trump’s guilt in planning a “coup d’etat” by linking his actions to those taken by far-right-wing groups.

Not one to turn down an opportunity to hear the sound of his voice, famed war hawk and career Deep Stater John Bolton sat with CNN’s Jake Tapper to provide his “expert” opinion on if the committee has proven President Trump attempted a coup. 

While criticizing President Trump’s actions leading up to and on January 6th, Mr. Bolton explained that he didn’t believe he planned a coup because, to summarize, it’s super hard to do that. The former President isn’t smart enough.

And apparently, Mr. Bolton would know since it takes someone with real smarts and experience in the dark arts, like him, to orchestrate a coup d’etat. 

Did He Say That Out Loud?

It all started with Mr. Bolton stating the following:

“None of it is defensible. It’s also a mistake, as some people have said including on the committee, the commentators, that somehow this was a carefully planned coup d’etat aimed at the Constitution.”

Mr. Tapper wasn’t going to be OK with that statement and, with his vast knowledge of coups, countered with:

“One doesn’t have to be brilliant to attempt a coup.”

Insert Mr. Bolton casually announcing on television that he’s basically a coup mastermind:

“I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coups d’etat – not here, but other places – it takes a lot of work. And that’s not what he did. It was just stumbling around from one idea to another.”

…. 

I guess we are just saying these things out loud now without regard for international law.

Bolton Longs For The Good Old Days

For my readers who aren’t familiar with what a coup is, it’s the attempt to overthrow a government illegally – often times done by one country to another through clandestine means. Some think all coups are military in nature, but they don’t have to be. 

So the fact that a former long-time major player in U.S. government operations who has held significant roles over the years would just openly admit to participating in coups is odd, to say the least. 

As author Jonathan Katz wrote:

“The United States has indeed sponsored and participated in lots of coups and foreign government overthrows, dating back to the 20th century [and] Bolton was personally involved in many of the recent efforts – in Nicaragua, Iraq, Haiti and others.”

He goes on:

“Generally, officials do not admit that sort of thing on camera.”

That is unless you are Big Bad John Bolton, baby! It’s no secret that Mr. Bolton is a fan of dark operations meant to tip the balance in foreign countries.

He supported regime change in Iraq and said in 2018:

“The declared policy of the United States should be the overthrow of the mullah’s regime in Tehran.”

But my all-time favorite was back in 2007 on NPR. Mr. Bolton said wistfully:

“We once had a capacity for clandestine efforts to overthrow governments. I wish we could get those back.”

Ah yes, the good old days.

Please, Bolton, Tell Us More

When pressed by Mr. Tapper on what coups, in particular, Mr. Bolton had a hand in orchestrating, he took the opportunity to plug his book that speaks about the Venezuelan attempted coup while he was National Security Advisor.

“Not that we had all that much to do with it, but I saw what it took for an opposition to try and overturn an illegally elected president and they failed. The notion that Donald Trump was half as competent as the Venezuelan opposition is laughable.”

Wow, John, please tell us how you really feel about your old boss. Again, not a secret that Mr. Bolton doesn’t think highly of the former President’s intellectual prowess or lack thereof.

He told Newsmax in an interview:

“The fact is that he barely knew where Ukraine was. He once asked John Kelly, his second chief of staff, if Finland were a part of Russia.”

Do We Really Care About Any Of This?

While I found it pretty shocking that someone openly admits to having a hand while serving in government in international coups, I suppose it shouldn’t, given who the person is. But, unfortunately, John Bolton isn’t known for discretion.

He famously flashed notes he had scribbled on a legal pad that said, “Afghanistan –> Welcome the Talks” and “5,000 troops to Columbia”. 

But the real question is, does anybody really care about the January 6th hearings? The latest New York Times/Siena College poll doesn’t bode well for the Democrats.

When asked, “What do you think is the MOST important problem facing the country today?” only 11% said the “state of democracy/political division.” Even more dismal was the 2% that said “Trump/Republicans” are the biggest problem, and 0% said “Domestic Terrorism.”

What made it to the top of the list? The Economy Stupid!, at 20%. And who can blame us with inflation hitting an all-time 40-year high of 9.1%?

Unfortunately, This Won’t Be The Last We Hear From Bolton

I have no doubt Mr. Bolton will find more ways to regale us with his greatness in countless interviews and will always rise to the occasion to bad mouth his prior boss. While he believes Trump was a “disturbance in the force,” which is a weird way to put it, he doesn’t think Trump was the leader of an “attack on our democracy.”

I’m sure Mr. Tapper was bummed with his response. However, Mr. Tapper did try to find out more about the international intrigue that Bolton alluded to, stating:

“I feel like there’s like this other stuff you’re not telling me.”

To which Mr. Bolton very cooly said:

“I’m sure there is.”

Excellent; I can’t wait to hear more from John Bolton.