Former national security adviser John Bolton, a vocal critic of President Trump’s foreign policy decisions, said the president “wants the Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else,” adding that “the way to his heart,” which he said leaders like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discovered, is to offer to nominate him.
While discussing Trump’s recent foreign policy moves, including hosting the Azerbaijan-Armenia deal and helping broker a peace deal between Congo and Rwanda, Bolton argued that he doesn’t believe “what he has done materially changes the situation in any of those circumstances, or several others he’s mentioned,” mentioning many Indians were upset that he took credit for mediating a ceasefire between Pakistan and India after clashes in May.
“I think what Trump has done is make it clear that he wants the Nobel Peace Prize more than anything else and the way to his heart, as Pakistani chief of staff [Asim] Munir found, Bibi Netanyahu found, offer to nominate him,” Bolton said.
Bolton’s criticism comes after multiple figures, including Netanyahu, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, mentioned Trump being nominated for various Nobel Peace Prizes.
However, Bolton, who criticized Trump’s upcoming meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Trump’s moves haven’t changed anything in foreign policy.
“In Thailand/Cambodia, he simply threatened tariffs if they didn’t sign a deal,” he said. “They’ve signed a deal. Nothing has changed. And the real kicker in Azerbaijan and Armenia was the Russians allowing Azerbaijan to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh in the past year.
