(Headline USA) Former national security adviser John Bolton hinted on Monday that he might launch a presidential bid in 2024 to stop former President Donald Trump.
Bolton made the comment during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press Now. He was addressing comments Trump had made over the weekend about election fraud and the implications such fraud has for the U.S. Constitution.
“So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” he continued. “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”
Trump tried to clarify his original statement, but it didn’t do much for damage control. Bolton said every single Republican leader, especially those considering running for the GOP nomination in 2024, should release “Shermanesque statements” condemning Trump.
“If I don’t see that, I’m going to seriously consider getting in,” he added.
Bolton wouldn’t lay out a timeline for when he might join the 2024 race, but said, “It might be earlier than some would think.”
He went on to argue that Trump’s statement should be considered “disqualifying” for public office.
“I think to be a presidential candidate you can’t just say, ‘I support the Constitution.’ You have to say, ‘I would oppose people who would undercut it.’”
Several Republican leaders have already denounced Trump’s rant, urging the GOP to move on from him in 2024.
“I’m at a loss for words. We need to move on,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said over the weekend.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., agreed: “It’s just one of those intuitively obvious things, whether a candidate for office has sort of a bedrock principle, ‘Are you going to support the Constitution?’” he explained.
“For [Trump], it’s not all that unusual. But it will be the grist and plenty of fodder for those that are looking to get into that race,” Thune added.
