TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton says Taiwan is “potentially toast” if Trump is elected president in November.
In an episode of BBC's “Hardtalk” aired on Thursday (Oct. 24), host Stephen Sackur noted that Bolton is a vocal supporter of and frequent visitor to Taiwan. Sackur then asked Bolton whether he believes a Trump presidency will provide the support Taiwan needs as China ramps up its military pressure on the country.
Bolton replied, “I'm very worried for Taiwan if he becomes president.” Bolton said that on numerous occasions while sitting behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, Trump would hold up a Sharpie pen and point to the tip and say, “See that? That's Taiwan,” before pointing to the desk and saying “That's China.”
Bolton said this comment encapsulates Trump's view on Taiwan. When asked by Sackur to elaborate, Bolton said, “Taiwan is potentially toast.”
Having also described Ukraine as toast if Trump is elected, as Bolton believes he would side with Putin, Sackur quipped, “There's an awful lot of toast in your vision of Trump presidency.” To which Bolton replied, “I'm very worried.”
Despite his concerns about Trump, Bolton declined to offer support for Vice President Kamala Harris and said, “I don't think either one of the candidates is fit to be president, so I'm not going to vote for either one of them.
