John Bolton: ‘Absolutely, I’m Still a Conservative Republican’

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton declared Tuesday on ABC’s “The View” that he was still a “conservative Republican.”

Co-host Joy Behar asked, “Sir, are you still a Republican?”

Bolton replied, “Absolutely. I’m still a conservative Republican.”

Behar said, “Let’s talk about your party. The leadership of your party has remained largely silent about Trump’s effort to overturn the election outcome. We still haven’t heard Mitch McConnell acknowledge Biden’s win. It seems like a lot of them are worried about Trump’s vindictiveness coming back to haunt them. As someone who has been on the receiving end of said vindictiveness, what do you say to your fellow Republicans who are trying to avoid that by staying quiet? Basically being cowardly, in my opinion.”

Bolton said, “I’ve been saying people need to speak up. The president right now has convinced millions, perhaps tens of millions of people in this country, and I can tell you around the world too, that the election was stolen from him. That’s not true. It’s not a good thing for the party or certainly for the country to have a large chunk of its population believe that that happened. The longer it goes on with basically only Trump declaring that narrative, the harder it will be for people to accept the reality that he lost. So I think it’s important — I’ve been saying it’s important. I welcomed many Republican leaders who have spoken out, to tell the truth to our voters. I think they can handle it. I think we need more, and the sooner, the better.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN