Former US National Security Advisor Bolton: 'Trump doesn't understand how dangerous Putin is'

John Bolton, former U.N. ambassador and U.S. National Security Advisor, warned Germany and Europe against cutting ties with the United States. In an in-depth interview with DW’s Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl, he stated: “Friedrich Mertz's first statement after learning of the election results was that, over time, he wants German independence and European independence from the United States. With all due respect, that's a mistake. The real question here is whether we care about the West as a whole. In Germany's case, caring more about the EU alone—cut off from the United States—makes it much more vulnerable to China and Russia than it is when joined with the United States.”

When asked about Donald Trump's approach towards Vladimir Putin, he remarked, “I don’t think he understands how dangerous Vladimir Putin is... He thinks he's friends with Putin.”

Bolton criticized Germany and Europe for not investing more in defense in the past: “For decades, Americans like me... firmly, I hope clearly said to Germany and others to spend more on defense. We got zero response. Along comes Donald Trump, slapping Europe in the face, and suddenly Europe wakes up and thinks, well, maybe we should spend more on defense. Don’t you see that’s teaching the wrong lesson?”

When discussing China and Taiwan, he added, “If I were in Taiwan, I would be very worried... Trump doesn’t understand the complexities.”

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