Australia and the World Past and Present

The following is based on John Bolton’s 2025 interview with the London-based Financial Times.

Israel

Asked about Trump’s relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Bolton responded saying, “you could see strains in the relationship.”

Trump was reportedly upset that Netanyahu had called Joe Biden quickly after the 2020 election to congratulate him on winning.

Bolton says that Trump was “jealous of Netanyahu.”

“Of all the politicians in the world, the one better at getting press attention is Netanyahu and I think that grates on Trump,”

Iran

On Iran, Bolton believes that the Ayatollahs are in a historically weak position.

He talks openly about regime change.

Russia

Bolton first met Putin in 2001 when he travelled to Russia with Donald Rumsfeld. Bolton considered the Russian leader to be “cold-blooded” and has met him on number of occasions since then.

Bolton thinks that part of Putin’s appeal for Trump is his strength. Trump likes strength. He likes leaders who demonstrate strength.

Bolton says that Trump regards Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un as friends.

“He sees it [international relations] through the prism of personal relationships.”

So, for Trump, foreign relations are not so much matters between states as they are matters between national leaders.

He believes that he can have a big impact on other leaders if he can get in the same room as them and hash things out.

There is little talk about national interests (either of the US or of other countries) and there is an emphasis on deal making.

Europe

Bolton considers that European sanctions on Russia have been incredibly ineffective.

He notes that transatlantic relationships have been “shredded” by Trump’s rhetoric and actions.

On the Trump influence on American politics

The former ambassador views trump as an “aberration” in American history.

He thinks that Trump will be less influential in reshaping US politics than many other commentators believe.

He believes that the US will return to a stage of normalcy post Trump.

He said, “I don’t think there is a successor to Trump because I don’t think he has a philosophy to pass along.”

He is clearly worried about the continuation of North Korea’s nuclear program stating that they have already detonated 6 nuclear weapons.

When Bolton looks out across the world, his eye is immediately drawn to certain locations and certain issues. He is focused on Russia – the traditional Cold War enemy. China is on his radar. How can you ignore the most populous nation on earth? Especially given that is seeking to be an even more influential world power. In recent decades China has made strong gains economically. Since the rise of Xi Jinping, China has been flexing its military muscle more strongly.

Bolton spends a lot of time thinking about his “rogue states” – countries like Iran and North Korea. Bolton will probably carry this around with him until the day he dies. It probably stems from his days working on nonproliferation.

Some may accuse him of being stuck in the past, jumping at shadows and fighting old wars.

Bolton considers that although the Cold War has ended, the world may now be an even more dangerous phase. Threats have fragmented and now come from all angles.