Former national security adviser John Bolton said former President Trump hasn’t set a good example, claiming his actions could have an “unfortunately ripple effect.”
“I think the President’s example really has an unfortunate ripple effect throughout the bureaucracy and gives rise to a lot of cynicism and a lot of carelessness,” Bolton said on CNN on Friday, responding to reports that Trump shared classified information with an Australian billionaire.
The news, first reported by ABC News on Thursday, alleges former president talked about U.S. nuclear submarine capabilities with billionaire Anthony Pratt at his Mar-a-Lago club in early 2021. Trump supposedly revealed classified details on the amount of nuclear armaments carried by the submarines, alongside other information.
Pratt then shared that information with over a dozen foreign officials, journalists and some of his employees, ABC News reported.
The billionaire has already been questioned by FBI and Justice Department prosecutors regarding the information at least twice.
Bolton said Trump’s alleged actions in the situation wouldn’t be unexpected.
“A very insightful person said to me during the 2016 campaign, that ‘Trump has no filter between his brain and his mouth,’” Bolton said. “And I think that’s a big part of the problem here, but it displays itself in a lot of different ways.”
“There’s the famous story of him being shown a sensitive overhead photograph of a failed missile launch in Iran, which normally we wouldn’t even talk about. But he was so attracted to the photo that he asked to keep it,” Bolton added.
He went on to explain that it wasn’t long before Trump had shared it on social media.