John Bolton Dumbfounded By Trump’s ‘Assault’ On Venezuela’s Opposition Leader

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton was perplexed by President Donald Trump’s “assault” on Venezuela’s opposition leader amid tremendous uncertainty about what comes next following the capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

In an interview Saturday night on CNN with Kaitlan Collins, Bolton called out Trump’s criticism of Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado — as well as the president’s declaration that the United States will “run” Venezuela for now.

“I have to say the most stunning part about the press conference was probably saying the U.S. was going to run the country,” Bolton said. “But the second most stunning was the assault on Mrs. Machado, the leader of the Democratic forces, the natural alternative government that Trump just dismissed.”

During a Saturday morning press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump completely undercut the prospect of Machado taking over as Venezuela’s new president.

“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said. “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Bolton went on to accuse the Trump administration of underestimating the ability of Machado’s faction to run the country.

“In the Venezuelan opposition, there is a capacity to govern,” Bolton said. “And why the Trump administration would think that they’re going to be any better at negotiating with what’s left of the Maduro regime than anybody else has ever been to convince them to give up power is beyond me. What we should be doing, other than getting ready for military force, is working with the opposition to fragment the remainder of the regime.”

Watch above, via CNN.