While it is damaging, will John Bolton’s book derail Trump’s campaign? – Conservative Article

By
Kieran Burt, Jeeves Sidhu and Max Ingleby
-
2
1289

While it is damaging, will John Bolton’s book derail Trump’s campaign? – Conservative Article

John Bolton’s new book, titled ‘The Room Where It Happened’, is a memoir of his time working as National Security Advisor (2018 to 2019) for the White House. The book made major waves after the US media published some of its content: scathing critiques of Trump. Attempting to stop its release on June 23rd, President Trump called for a court case. It was unsuccessful. Yet, Bolton’s work is unlikely to alter the tide of the US election’s significantly. And none of the information revealed in it should be surprising.

Bolton makes several claims similar to previously reported events. Claiming Trump tried to recruit China to help him win the 2020 election, resembles Trump forcing Ukraine to do the same. This even relates to allegations about Russia’s involvement in 2016. Claiming that Trump offered favours to dictators is also similar to when the Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte was invited to the USA (2017), or that he’s been close to the Egyptian president since they met. This was three years before Bolton wrote his book. Bolton also claims Trump wanted to serve more than two terms in the White House. Is this new? No. In 2019 Trump claimed his supporters would “demand” he stayed longer than 2024. Prior to that, the President announced his support of abolishing term limits. These mistakes won’t deter people from voting Republican.

Let’s get this straight, John Bolton is a Republican hawk favouring military action over diplomacy. How Trump dealt with Iran exemplifies this best. It was Bolton’s advice that resulted in Trump withdrawing from the deal. After Iran shot down a US drone, Bolton kept pressuring Trump to give a tougher response. This was also the case with North Korea, where Bolton wrote that he favoured pre-emptive strikes over diplomacy. Neither actions promised positive outcomes. This might dissuade people from thinking Bolton is right, and may lead to the validity of his future claims being dismissed.

Bolton’s ideological position furthers the ‘damage potential’ of these claims though. While not the first Republican to disagree with Trump, Bolton’s words show there’s still divisions in both the party and White House. Divisions this close to an election could hurt Trump’s chances. His role as National Security Advisor granted him access to information unavailable to the public and shed light on the White House’s inner workings. Let’s remember Trump’s case against the book: it didn’t have the proper permission to be released. So there must be something in there that Trump doesn’t want known by the wider public.

The 2020 election will be tough for Trump. Considering his handling of the coronavirus, his reaction to the BLM protests, and his (so far) unsuccessful rallies, this book might give him a headache but won’t be an important factor in people’s mind when thinking of November. Most people will ignore this book, focusing instead on his campaign and the pandemic. It will just be a short note in the long list of Trump’s mistakes, and people will soon move on.

Written by Conservative Junior Writer, Kieran Burt

Follow me on Twitter!

Point of Information

Right argument. Wrong Conversation? – a Liberal response

Kieran is right. John Bolton’s tell-all book will have little effect on voters in November 2020. But not because he’s a military hawk. And not because they outline mistakes that would, ordinarily, destroy any resident of the White House before 2016. It will have little effect on voters because public discourse has already moved on from the Bolton saga. Many voters making up Middle America (the most important group in this campaign) will have little awareness of Bolton anyway, never mind his book.

Bolton’s book has become more insignificant recently with Mary Trump’s exposé on the troubled psychology, and upbringing, of the man sitting in the Oval Office. The book, entitled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, has been temporarily blocked by the White House, in an attempt to postpone its release until at least after election day. Despite not being shirked in the slightest by the emergence of his “grab her by the pussy” comment in 2016, the potential release of this book seems to have particularly spooked the President – showing its explosive potential.

But above all, Bolton’s book will not affect this election because, frankly, there are far more pressing matters to discuss. How Trump deals with the BLM movement will, of course, be a key issue. How the USA’s response to coronavirus is framed will also be core to the campaign, as the nation begins to ease out of the crisis. But, perhaps the most important factor is how badly swing voters in Middle America feel the economic consequences of Covid-19. The economy has often been Trump’s saving grace. If he loses this so-called ‘trump’ card, he could be in for a difficult campaign.

Written by Liberal Writer, Jeeves Sidhu

Follow me on Twitter!

No surprises from Bolton’s cash-grab – a Labour response

Kieran is right. Another embittered White House exile and his latest soon-to-be-New-York-Times-best-seller from is unlikely to affect the President’s re-election campaign. Jeeves also hits the nail on the head pointing out that Trump’s success relies, on the (until recently) prosperous inherited economy.

The reality is that Donald Trump is immune to conventional criticism. With his simultaneous manipulation and devaluation of mainstream media, and unprecedented muddling of fact and falsehood, the President has eroded all trust in a common, universal truth.

Yes, the allegation that Trump solicited electoral assistance from China may have threatened the collapse of any previous administration. But in the current climate, it seems more like tabloid gossip: to be briefly gawped at and quickly forgotten. Unless there is concrete, unavoidable evidence (something as clear cut as the Watergate tapes), Trump and his enemies understand that the impact on the polls will be practically non-existent.

This is because, in Trump’s America, nothing, and no one is sacred. The Donald has taught his loyal followers that associates of his are potential saboteurs, capable of betraying the glorious leader at any moment, despite the heaps of lavish praise that Trump has undoubtedly poured upon them.

For voters itching to propel their premier into a second term, there is no such thing as an experienced politician worthy of respect, or an obsequious charlatan who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the mechanisms of power; there is only one of us and one of them. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a senior advisor, a decorated ex-general, the director of the FBI, or even the President’s own niece, once you have attracted the ire of Trump’s twitter account, in the eyes of the Republican party you have become ‘one of them’.

Written by Labour Writer, Max Ingleby

Follow me on Twitter!

 

Kieran Burt
Senior Conservative writer | Website

Hello, my name is Kieran Burt and I am going into second year at Nottingham Trent University studying Politics and International Relations. I first developed an interest in politics through reading the Dictator’s Handbook by Alastair Smith and Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, when I was 16, and have furthered my interest by studying politics at A level and now at university.

Jeeves Sidhu
Liberal writer | Website

Hello I’m Jeeves, one of POI’s new Liberal Political Writers and currently a final year politics student at the University of Exeter. For the past two years I’ve also served as Founder & President of Model Westminster Exeter, a branch of national political engagement charity Model Westminster.

Max Ingleby
Labour political writer at Point Of Information | Website

A late bloomer when it comes to politics and current affairs, I first dipped my toes in the political pool at the tender age of sixteen with a bracing submersion into the AS politics syllabus, and I have been hooked ever since.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

2 COMMENTS

Leave a Reply