Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday that President Donald Trump is “the political equivalent of a street rioter.”
Bolton explained his position to CNN’s Jake Tapper, saying that he believed Trump understood he had lost on legal grounds and was simply attempting to sew enough confusion to retain power. (RELATED: ‘Who Cares About The Concentration Camps?’: Jake Tapper Torches Disney Over Mulan)
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“Just how worried should Americans be by what they see the president doing?” Tapper asked Bolton, noting several recently-fired officials and other shake-ups within the Trump administration.
“Well, I think Biden will be sworn in. I think the real question now is how much damage Trump can do before that happens,” Bolton began. “I mean, right now, I think Trump is throwing rocks through windows. I think he is the political equivalent of a street rioter.”
Bolton went on to talk about the legal challenges that Trump’s campaign had lost so far, adding, “I think what is he trying to do now is sew enough confusion that he can break through what’s called the ‘safe harbor provision’ in the Electoral College process and I think he is praying for time that something will happen.”
Tapper suggested that Trump could be attempting to bring about a nonviolent coup, but Bolton was not entirely convinced.
“I think that gives Trump too much credit,” he said. “I think he is playing for time and in hopes that something will emerge that allows him either to have a good reason why he has lost or, in his mind, maybe still to win.”
Bolton concluded by saying that the only real remedy was for more Republicans to come out and break with Trump publicly, say that the election is over and say that Trump is not representative of the party across the board.