The Choice 2020: John Bolton (interview) | FRONTLINE

John Bolton served as national security adviser to Donald Trump from 2018 to 2019. He was previously the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and is the author of The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.

The following interview was conducted by FRONTLINE’s Gabrielle Schonder on July 31, 2020 during our reporting for the “The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden” — FRONTLINE’s critically acclaimed election series featuring the interwoven, investigative biographies of both presidential candidates. It has been edited for clarity and length.



Learn more about how these interviews were filmed during the pandemic:

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Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Park Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation.

[burnindownthehouse]

I am a history graduate. One of the reasons why I didn't feel Trump was capable of doing the job is just what Bolton is referring to here- Trump doesn't know anything about world history or even national history, nor does he care to learn. I don't think he is capable of learning history and he doesn't really care to learn anyway. How can you have a president who doesn't know history? He makes foreign policy decisions without knowing these things. I find that to be absurd. It really sets the nation back.

[JoeMacStevens]

How far we have fallen that John Bolton is the voice of reason. If it were up to him we would be in Iran right now.

This is so basic. Bolton finally realized he couldn’t control trump. He then bolted.

[brandonguitierez]

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone get called a coward so politely and so many times in one conversation.

[mikeearls]

Although I am pretty liberally minded, i find this guy very articulate. I don't have to agree with his politics to respect his intelligence

[tbz]

9:16 He didn’t prove anybody wrong, he himself didn’t think he would win! All it did was comfirm the american election system is broken.

[davidsawyer]

The beauty of these interviews is the comments.

[cecileschultz]

Dear Frontline, your documentaries are truly amazing and succeed most of the time in keeping me from my work🤣

[troyevitt]

For my money I don't know if it gets any better than when John Bolton sings, "The President Has The Attention-Span of a Child". I am a fan...I celebrate the man's entire catalog.

[ministryoftruth]

I would, politically, disagree with everything that Bolton stands for; but, I can see that he has a clear, concise and articulate thought process. It must have been torture for him to have to listen to and deal with the scatterbrain that is Trump, whose thought process is comparable to how an air-filled balloon flies randomly and chaotically around after one releases the nozzle.

[PNWJEEPER]

These full interviews provide a lot of context. I appreciate that Frontline posts them so that we're able to get the full picture directly from the sources.

[johncsajaghy]

My takeaway is that Trump is simply not qualified for the job, and doesn't want to do the work to become qualified.

[truckerinsight]

And this is what normalizing a war criminal looks like🙄

[illfood]

Funny that Trump supporters are commenting how terrible Bolton is when he was hand picked by Trump.

[myfeedback]

John's read of Trump is the most accurate I have heard. I will even say it is comprehensive.

[russianbluecat]

All I see when John Bolton speaks is a man who could have saved America from The Donald a few times by actually testifying and speaking out before his book was released. If he felt so strongly about Trump's incompetence, he should have spoken up when it mattered. He's a self-serving opportunist - period.

[katomiler]

Brilliant reporting, as always, by the Frontline team.

[goodness]

I wish John Bolton would have stood up for America and testify in Congress - now he is lining his pocket and granting interviews - I would say unpatriotic if you asked me.

[ArthurMoore-iinn]

*Morons will say: "Fake news, Trump is a genius and Bolton is part of the Deep State!"*

[stevesteve]

Just unfit for the job, period. So dangerous.