The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir
by John Bolton
View on GoodreadsBolton's case is that Trump ran foreign policy around his own interests and reelection rather than national security. You get it crisis by crisis from about 17 months as national security adviser, from Venezuela, North Korea and Iran to Trump asking Xi Jinping for reelection help through farm-state soybean and wheat purchases.
Core ideas
- Ukraine fits a pattern: He confirms Trump tied military aid to investigations of Democrats and the Bidens, and says Trump promised Erdoğan he'd take care of the Halkbank case.
- Gaps in the basics: He reports Trump musing that invading Venezuela would be legal and not knowing whether Finland was part of Russia.
- Suspicion inside: He distrusted Rex Tillerson and H.R. McMaster early and later suspected Mike Pompeo of leaking against him.
Published2020
Pages588
ISBN9781982148058
ReadOct 2025
