Ambassador John Bolton on why Biden’s poll numbers are low, “They see what Biden’s doing—very strong rhetoric and less action. This is a test of leadership. A leader is not just somebody who can flap his gums. It’s somebody who can get things done and accomplish the objectives that he is talking about.”
In an interview with WGIR’s Chris Ryan, former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor, John Bolton explains how the apparent disconnect between President Biden’s condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his administration’s slow and timid response to apparent acts of genocide have caused a rapid decline in the President’s approval rating; assesses the current Russian tactics in Ukraine; and gives a surprising evaluation of Vladimir Putin’s standing with the Russian people.
Ambassador Bolton explains why President Biden uses harsh rhetoric to describe Vladimir Putin as a war criminal who is guilty of genocide, but Biden does little about it.
“Biden’s behaving like what he has been almost all his life, as a Senator. Senators hurl verbal thunder bolts, but then they don’t have any further responsibility. Then there is a disconnect between the rhetoric and the administration’s actions.”
A recent poll showed that 68% of Americans want more to be done to stop the killing of the Ukrainian people. John Bolton believes that these polls show that the American people know and care about foreign policy and they understand what is at stake when a country like Ukraine is attacked like this.
Bolton also believes when the American people have lost confidence in Joe Biden when they put how he has handled this destabilizing war in Europe together with the Biden Administration’s mishandling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“They see what Biden’s doing—very strong rhetoric and less action. This is a test of leadership. A leader is not just somebody who can flap his gums. It’s somebody who can get things done and accomplish the objectives that he is talking about.”
As Russian troops are regrouping in Ukraine, Ambassador Bolton, who also served asNational Security Advisor to President Trump, believes that their goal is secure a large portion of eastern Ukraine along the Russian border and all of southern seacoast of Ukraine, especially the port of Odessa. As a result, Ukraine would become a landlocked country.
Bolton isn’t that confident that the Russian second phase of their invasion will be any better organized than their initial attack. Also, he believes that there is a race against time in Ukraine as to whether the various promises of weapon systems will be delivered in such a way that Ukraine can hold off the Russians.
Ambassador Bolton’s evaluation of Vladimir Putin’s popularity with the Russian people is rather surprising.
“Putin’s public opinion ratings in Russia, by independent pollsters, have been rising and they are higher than they have been in a long time because a lot of Russian people believe that Ukraine and Belarus should be reintegrated into Mother Russia.”
Also, Bolton doesn’t believe that there are any forces in Russia to oppose and take down Putin. However, he believes that Putin needs a victory or two to repair the damage done to the reputation of the Russian military.
At some point in the future, Putin might declare a victory and consolidate the territory which he as accumulated, like he did in 2014. Then, when he feels like it, he might launch another invasion.
“Once the shooting stops and the situation freezes, people will say, “Okay, let’s get back to business as usual’, and Putin is counting on that.”