Former national security adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday that President Trump\u2019s hot-mic moment at the White House on Monday reveals key insight into Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s approach to dealing with the U.S. president as he pushes for a diplomatic resolution to the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the White House meeting<\/a> with several of Europe\u2019s most powerful leaders<\/a> on Monday, Trump was captured on a hot mic telling French President Emmanuel Macron that he thinks Putin \u201cwants to make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think he wants to make a deal for me,\u201d Trump continued, referring to Putin. \u201cDo you understand that? As crazy as it sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n In an interview on CNN\u2019s \u201cThe Situation Room,\u201d Bolton zeroed in on Trump\u2019s use of the words, \u201cfor me,\u201d saying the phrase is \u201cevidence\u201d of the message Putin likely conveyed to Trump when they met in Alaska on Friday.<\/p>\n Bolton said he suspects Putin appealed to Trump\u2019s long-established desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s Putin saying, as he possibly did in Alaska, \u2018Look, I can help you out here, Donald. You deserve the Nobel Peace Prize if you can bring peace here. And I want to help you. You know, this war never would have begun if you had been president,\u2019\u201d Bolton said, speculating about Putin\u2019s message to Trump during their private meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the way to Trump’s heart,\u201d Bolton added.<\/p>\n Bolton said the fact the U.S. president thinks Putin wants to make a deal to help Trump personally is \u201cevidence of how Putin negotiated him \u2014 and Trump is so proud of it, he tells Macron.\u201d<\/p>\n Bolton, who served in the first Trump administration and has been a frequent critic of the president in the years since, expressed deep skepticism ahead of the Alaska meeting about the prospects of a peace deal. Bolton also served as the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a peace deal anywhere in the near future,\u201d Bolton told<\/a> CNN\u2019s Jake Tapper on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as Putin is advancing on the battlefield, even if it\u2019s 3 yards in a cloud of dust, he\u2019s not going to give up anything if he can get away with it,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd I think here, I think the White House has lowered expectations precisely for the reason that it\u2019s too complicated to handle here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Former national security adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday that President Trump\u2019s hot-mic moment at the White House on Monday reveals key insight into Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s approach to<\/p>\n