WASHINGTON, DC — Former national security adviser John Bolton has accused President Donald Trump of being motivated primarily by personal or financial interests in his dealings with Turkey, while questioning whether Trump should apply his business acumen to foreign policy.
NBC News reported Tuesday that Bolton made the comment at a private gathering last week in a global investment event organized by Morgan Stanley, at which he also reportedly took shots at Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who remain White House aides.
Bolton recalled how there was strong bipartisan support in Congress to sanction Turkey after Erdogan purchased a Russian missile defense system, defying the United States and NATO allies. But Trump didn’t share their appetite.
Bolton, who left the White House in September, hinted there was a reason for that. The Trump Organization has a property in Istanbul, Turkey’s capital.
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More recently, after a phone call with Erdogan, Trump agreed to remove U.S. forces from northeast Syria to let Turkish forces come in. This put the U.S.’s Kurdish allies in jeopardy of being killed by the Turks.