John Bolton Scorches Trump’s Russia-Ukraine Claim Using 1 Simple Name-Drop

John Bolton, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, criticized the president on Wednesday for claiming he had “no favorites” in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“Well, of course he has favorites, and his favorite is not Russia, it’s Vladimir Putin, whom he considers his friend,” Bolton said in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

Bolton, a frequent Trump critic, went after his former boss, who stated in the Oval Office that he doesn’t “care” if a ceasefire deal would pressure Kyiv to recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“Look, I just want to see the war end. I don’t care,” Trump claimed.

“If they’re both happy, they both signed an agreement, I have no favorites. I don’t want to have any favorites. I want to have a deal done.”

Collins reported that as Trump’s 100th day in office approaches, he has become “increasingly frustrated” that a peace agreement between the countries has been elusive.

The president stated that the U.S. must “get a deal” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing that he thought it would be “easier” to deal with him but it has turned out to be “harder.”

Trump also took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday to criticize Zelenskyy for being “very harmful” to the peace negotiations due to his pushback toward the U.S. proposal for Kyiv to recognize Russia’s illegal seizure of the Crimean Peninsula.

Bolton pointed out that Trump has already made “major concessions” to the Russians.

He then highlighted the president’s rejection of the U.S. position on Ukraine, particularly in terms of recognizing its sovereignty and discussions of the country becoming a member of NATO.

“This basically aligns with central elements of what Russia desires, and it has impacted the negotiations, which have focused more on a ceasefire than a lasting peace agreement,” Bolton remarked.

“A lasting deal is still far off.”