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A review by timsin10
The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John R. Bolton
3.0
Bolton undoubtedly wants to vindicate himself, and the reader must always keep that in mind when reading a memoir, especially a political one. Nevertheless, despite his many shots at the Washington Post and New York Times, the portrait of Trump that emerges from his narrative is largely consistent with media reports. Namely Trump has no overarching philosophy on foreign policy, and his only consistent objective is his own political gain. Personally I find Bolton to be way too hawkish, but there’s no doubt he is principled and consistently conservative. This man has served under three Republican presidents, been one of Fox News’s top commentators on foreign affairs, and was at one time one of Trump’s closest advisors, and it should be a huge red flag that he doesn’t believe Trump is fit to be president. But the sad state of American politics in 2020 just means that many of his former allies don’t care what he thinks anymore, because he is no longer in a position of power.