Jimmy Carter says John Bolton as national security adviser is "worst mistake" Trump has made
Former President Jimmy Carter says President Trump's choice of John Bolton as his new national security adviser is "the worst mistake" Mr. Trump has made.
"I have been concerned at some of the things he's decided. I think his last choice for national security adviser was very ill-advised. I think John Bolton has been the worst mistake he's made," Carter told "CBS This Morning" co-host Norah O'Donnell Monday. Bolton will be Mr. Trump's third national security adviser since taking office.
The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, Bolton is known to be hawkish on foreign policy. He will replace H.R. McMaster.
"He's advocated going to war preemptively against North Korea, against Iraq, against-- against Iran even. And so I think that that is particularly ill-advised because the national security adviser, I know from experience, is the most listened-to advice that a president gets... but I still think that our country can overcome him," Carter said.
Asked about Bolton's case for a preemptive strike, Carter said: "That would be a total disaster. ... We could precipitate a nuclear war, which would be horribly destructive."
Carter also spoke to O'Donnell about his new book, "Faith: A Journey for All," published by Simon & Schuster, a division of CBS. The two also discussed North Korea and Sunday's Stormy Daniels interview on "60 Minutes."
- READ AN EXCERPT: Jimmy Carter's "Faith: A Journey for All"
