MEDIA LOSER: Rob Schmitt Newsmax host Rob Schmitt interviewed former Donald Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton and got a crash course in being prepared and informed. Schmitt's premise was that Trump had been incredibly tough on Russia, and that it was for this reason that Vladimir Putin chose not to attack Ukraine during Trump's administration. To support the claim, Schmitt had a bullet point list of steps he thought the administration had taken, including claiming Trump "sanctioned Nord Stream 2." "I mean, he took a very tough stance against Russia. I’m surprised you don’t think that he would have handled this better than Joe Biden,” he said as the list was on screen. "No he didn't," said Bolton to Schmitt's saying Trump took a tough stance. "He did not. We didn't sanction Nord Stream 2. We should have." "In almost every case the sanctions were imposed with Trump complaining about it, saying we were being too hard,” said Bolton. "The fact is he barely knew where Ukraine was." "He once asked John Kelly, the second chief of staff, if Finland were part of Russia," Bolton continued. "It's just not accurate to say that Trump's behavior somehow deterred the Russians." Bolton said that Putin simply didn't feel his military was ready, and added that, so far in the invasion, it appears they still aren't. Schmitt toward the end tried to resolve the interview by arguing credit is due and that Trump was the first to warn Europe about relying on Russian gas and oil. “You’re absolutely wrong,” Bolton corrected him once more. "The first person to tell the Europeans not to rely on Russian oil and gas was Ronald Reagan." "Fair enough," said Schmitt. A painful performance. |