WASHINGTON (AP) – As the US Justice Department has sued to stop John Bolton from releasing his book, details of what is written between the pages is beginning to be made public.
The book by the former White House national security adviser says President Trump asked China’s president during a 2019 summit to help his reelection prospects in 2020 by purchasing more American farm products.
The Associated Press has obtained an advance copy of the book, which is highly critical of the president.
In the book, Bolton calls Trump’s effort to shift the topic of the June 2019 conversation with Xi Jinping to the U.S. election a stunning move, and writes that it was among innumerable conversations that “formed a pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency.”
Bolton wrote. The 577-page book paints an unvarnished portrait of Trump and his administration, amounting to the most vivid, first-person account yet of how Trump conducts himself in office.
President Trump blasted Bolton in a series of tweets:
Wacko John Bolton’s “exceedingly tedious”(New York Times) book is made up of lies & fake stories. Said all good about me, in print, until the day I fired him. A disgruntled boring fool who only wanted to go to war. Never had a clue, was ostracized & happily dumped. What a dope!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2020
Several other former officials have written books, but most have been flattering about the president. Other former officials have indicated they were saving their accounts of their time working for Trump until after he left office to speak more candidly.
