House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy questioned the claims about President Trump made in a tell-all book authored by Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton.
“Money drives a lot of people to say a lot of things,” McCarthy, a close Trump ally, told reporters Thursday.
The California Republican called Bolton’s decision to publish the book “appalling” in the wake of the Trump administration’s assertion that it contained classified information. McCarthy said the book would “put America in some jeopardy” by tipping off foreign adversaries to classified information.
McCarthy said he sat in meetings with Bolton during his tenure at the White House, and Bolton never expressed criticism of the president. Instead, Bolton praised Trump’s tough stance with China.
[Byron York’s Daily Memo: John Bolton’s lonely book tour]
McCarthy said he talks to the president frequently, but the two have not discussed Bolton’s book, which the congressman dismissed as “lies against the president.”
Bolton’s book claims Trump solicited reelection help from China and other foreign leaders, among other damning charges.
“The president has to deal with getting this nation back going from COVID and how are we going to rebuild and remove this country,” McCarthy said. “Those are the things we focus on — and rightfully so.”
