Former National Security Advisor John Bolton referred to critics of his claim that he was involved in coup d’etats in other nations as snowflakes.
Bolton defended his claims that he had helped to orchestrate coups in foreign nations, dismissing his critics who denounced his involvement in the overthrowing of governments as “snowflakes” and didn’t understand the necessity of his actions in the interest of national security.
“Well, I think there are a lot of snowflakes out there that don’t understand what you need to do to protect the United States,” Bolton said in an appearance on Newsmax on Wednesday.
His critics are referencing a comment he made with CNN’s Jake Tapper at the conclusion of the January 6 hearing on Tuesday. Bolton claimed, while giving an analysis after the meeting, he had helped “plan coup d’etat” and was pushing back on Tapper’s claim that one didn’t need to be “brilliant to attempt a coup.”
“I disagree with that. As somebody who has helped plan coup d’etat, not here but, you know, other places, it takes a lot of work,” Bolton said.
In the Newsmax interview, Bolton alluded to an attempted coup d’etat in Venezuela but declined to mention any other efforts by name.
“I’m not going to get into specifics. I did write about Venezuela in my memoir. And I think that any president that’s not willing to do what it takes to protect the interests of the American people, it needs to have some counseling,” Bolton said.
The United States has been involved covertly in several successful coups, including Iran in 1953, the Dominican Republic in 1961, Brazil in 1964 and Chile in 1973, as reported by Foreign Policy.
The referenced Venezuela coup may be the attempt in 2019 by Juan Guaido to oust socialist Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Bolton, as national security advisor, publicly supported Guaido’s calls for military assistance. The coup was unsuccessful in the end.
The comment prompted Tapper to reply, “I feel like there’s other stuff you’re not telling me (beyond Venezuela),” to which Bolton responded: “I’m sure there is.”
American involvement in other countries has been long criticized, but it is highly unusual for a former member of government to openly admit to stoking unrest in these locations and inciting coups.
“John Bolton, who’s served in highest positions in the U.S. government, including UN ambassador, casually boasting about he’s helped plan coups in other countries,” Dickens Olewe, a BBC journalist from Kenya, wrote on Twitter.
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