Diyar Guldogan
05 June 2026•Update: 05 June 2026
US President Donald Trump on Friday criticized former National Security Adviser John Bolton following reports that Bolton is expected to plead guilty in a case involving the mishandling of classified documents.
"I was never much of a fan of John Bolton. I never thought he was a smart person," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Wisconsin.
Trump accused Bolton of repeatedly advocating military action while in the administration during his first term.
"He wanted to go to war with anybody that opened their mouth," Trump said. "He always wanted to kill people and get war, and that was okay for me, as long as I didn't listen to him, which I never did."
Trump went on to describe Bolton as "a bad guy" and "a dirty guy," adding: "I looked at John Bolton as somebody that was a very dishonest guy and not a smart guy, and I guess he's paying the price for certainly being dishonest."
Bolton, who served as national security adviser during Trump's first administration, initially faced 18 charges, including eight counts of transmitting national defense information and 10 counts of retaining classified national defense materials.
