John Bolton Says Trump’s Personal Finances Influence President’s Foreign Policy Decisions

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said last week that personal and financial incentives are influencing President Donald Trump‘s foreign policy decisions especially on Turkey.

The former White House official criticized Trump’s reluctance to impose economic sanctions on Turkey after the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan purchased a Russian missile-defense system. Congress had given the measure bipartisan support.

Last month, Trump withdrew U.S. troops from northeast Syria, which prompted Turkish forces to launch an attack on the Kurds. The Kurdish militia is an American ally. Although Trump sent Erdogan a letter instructing him not to launch the attacks, Erdogan ignored it and started them anyway.

 

Erdogan visited the White House on Wednesday.

Bolton left the administration on Sept. 10 and is not scheduled to testify against Trump in the impeachment hearings, though he has said he would if a court ordered him to do so. Bolton made his Trump comments at a Morgan Stanley event in Miami last week. He depicted the President as a soulless man committed to advancing familial and personal interests.