The electoral contest towards the presidential race in 2024 has already begun. As the next year of the general elections is momentous in the United States, the two great political formations in the country begin to warm up while potential candidates recoil on the possible success of their applications before officially announcing them.
On the Democratic side, waiting for President Joe Biden to announce his aspirations to opt for re-election or not, no one has yet dared to step forward. And, for the Republican, to the continuous rumors about possible opponents of Trump, who for six years has led the Conservative Party alone, new faces begin to appear publicly stating their intentions to compete against the tycoon or, in other cases, their desire to do it.
This is the case of John Bolton, former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States (2018-19) under the mandate of Donald Trump, who confesses to LA RAZÓN “being considering” leading the Republican Party and, as a consequence, competing in the primaries for the electoral race towards the White House. “I thought about it very seriously in 2016. It is a difficult decision to make, there are many things that you must do diligently to decide where to apply and the process of how to do it,” explains the American lawyer and diplomat.
Considered a heavy-handed Republican “hawk” in foreign policy, the writer and political analyst also admits: “I am very concerned that the Republican Party does not know how to separate itself from Donald Trump.” By way of thinking aloud, he adds: “I think that’s the path to victory. It’s not a question of immorality, it’s a question of basic politics, because I think our path is more positive without Trump.”
When asked what will happen, Bolton is clear: «I don’t think Trump will win the Republican nomination, he has enormous problems, even legally. Not only with the classified documents, but also with the events related to the 2020 elections, the riots of January 6, 2021 and his own personal financial problems, some of which will go to trial in just a couple of months » .
The saga of classified documents has led the United States Department of Justice to open an investigation into three recent high-ranking officials in the country: first it was Trump, then current President Joe Biden and finally former Vice President Mike Pence.
An issue that already affects both parties equally, Democrats and Republicans, which John Bolton believes “has a solution, the good news is that we can fix it”, but “needs to be reviewed.” When presidents finish their terms, he explains in detail, “moving at the end of an Administration is hectic and chaotic, and mistakes were probably made when picking up belongings from the White House.”
The former National Security adviser responds, between laughs, to the question of whether there could be other presidents and vice presidents reviewing his files at this time, as this new scandal has set a precedent in Washington, so that other classified documents could appear soon. To prevent this, “there is a way after they leave office, but before they return to their personal position, where there is more time to review any classified documents that may have been improperly filed.”
Regarding the current judicial investigation under way, “many documents are stored in federal custody, so the damage that they may have potentially caused is still unknown. Until the intelligence services assess these damages, we will not know the real seriousness of the problem,” the Republican assesses about the process.
For that same reason, Bolton believes that “the way in which Trump handled the issue of classified documents simply reinforces in the minds of many people that he does not pay enough attention to presidential duties and responsibilities,” so he believes that this situation “will increase the desire to have someone new to be the candidate next year.”
Without knowing yet how this subject, not without controversy, may affect the next presidential campaign, “the real question is whether any of the documents were extracted with the knowledge and approval of the president or vice president,” in Bolton’s opinion. “We will see what happens, because the most serious thing is that these documents could fall into the hands of our adversaries.”
the republican race
Bolton, who represents the most conservative wing of the Republican Party, also served as US ambassador to the United Nations (2004-05) during the George W. Bush presidency, the same position held by Nikki Haley (2017-18). in the Trump era, now a candidate for the Republican primaries since she announced her official candidacy last week.
“We have a lot of people interested in announcing their candidacies” in the Republican Party and “I think it will be a very open competition,” he says, advancing that “this is the period in which people look for indications of support from activists across the country , from taxpayers, from state parties, legislators… Although people do not know it, things are very active ».
In the same context in which, according to the ambassador, “more candidates will apply in the coming months”, he himself confesses to LA RAZÓN that he could be one of them. “I wouldn’t run unless I could win, so that’s what I’m considering right now,” he adds candidly.
And, in that case, do you think you would compete against Joe Biden? Bolton seems to have a clear answer: “I don’t think Biden is the Democratic candidate. I think he will announce that he will not run for re-election probably at the end of this year », he affirms with some conviction.
Bolton promises, smiling, “to be delighted” to give LA RAZÓN another interview if he finally runs for president. “See you soon, maybe,” he says goodbye for now.
