'She's Obviously Made a Political Calculation': John Bolton Disappointed in Nikki Haley's Endorsement of Donald Trump

Former Donald Trump national security adviser John Bolton expressed disappointment on Wednesday, May 22, over Nikki Haley's endorsement of the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee.

This endorsement came after a contentious primary in which Haley had been heavily critical of Trump on the campaign trail.

The incident unfolded on Wednesday when Haley announced her decision to support Trump against President Joe Biden despite her previous comments about the former president being "unfit for office."

During an appearance on CNN's The Situation Room, Bolton criticized Haley's change of heart.

"I think she's obviously made a political calculation that it's in her interests to support Donald Trump," Bolton told Wolf Blitzer, conveying his disappointment with Haley's endorsement. Furthermore, the former Trump advisor highlighted that many Republicans are making similar calculations due to their dissatisfaction with the performance of the Biden administration.

Bolton maintained his position by affirming that he would be writing in former Vice President Dick Cheney in November's election instead of choosing between Biden and Trump.

"I'm not gonna ruin my vote by voting for somebody who's not competent to hold the job," Bolton explained.

During a discussion at the Hudson Institute, Haley acknowledged Trump's imperfections while emphasizing the failures of the Biden administration.

"Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I’ve made that clear many, many times," she told the crowd. "I stand by what I said in my suspension speech. Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me."

“I noticed that in her remarks, at least as reported in the press, she said that she wanted to support a president who would back America’s allies and hold its enemies accountable, and that’s not Donald Trump,” Bolton argued.

"It’s not his record in office and I am very much afraid that would not be his performance if he did get a second term," he continued. "I don’t know what Nikki’s calculations are. I hope she’s not thinking of being his vice president because I think for Trump, the two questions that are most important in interviewing prospective vice presidents are, number one, 'Do you think the 2020 election was stolen?' and number two, 'If I asked you to do something akin to what I asked Mike Pence to do on January 6, would you do it?' and anybody who answers 'yes' to either one of those questions I think is disqualified to be vice president."

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Haley's endorsement comes only three months after she claimed "we can’t have someone that sits and mocks men and women trying to protect America" as president, following Trump's controversial remarks about U.S. military members — including her husband.

"It’s a pattern of chaos," she said at the time. "It’s a pattern of irresponsibility."