John R. Bolton quotes

John R. Bolton is an American diplomat, attorney, and political commentator, known for his hardline views on foreign policy. His career includes service as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor. He is recognized as a prominent advocate for a forceful approach to international affairs. Here are 77 of his quotes:

Individual liberty is the whole purpose of political life, and I thought it was threatened then [in 1964 becoming politically engaged at age 15] and I think it's threatened now.

John R. Bolton

There were a lot of people who were Reaganauts going in, as there are always people who are conservatives going in. But they don't act like conservatives after they get there. There is skill to maneuvering the bureaucracy. And I think one argument I could make would be, I've never run for office, I'm not a conventional politician, that's for sure, but I have been in government, and I know how it works. I have actually gotten things done in the government.

John R. Bolton

What's needed in this next campaign is to say, with clarity, why a pro-individual-liberty, small-government perspective is what most Americans really want.

John R. Bolton

[On the Tea Party:] I like it because their view of government is essentially the same as mine, and I like it because they're regular people who, but for the shock of Obama's radicalism, probably would not have gotten active in politics.

John R. Bolton

...as I followed his [candidate Obama] obsession with restructuring our entire domestic way of life, it became completely clear to me that our willful ignoring of national-security policy was going to cost us...I was watching what was happening in 2008, and I thought, How can this be?

John R. Bolton

I think this [Obama] administration, if its policies were pursued for an extended period of time, would take us into decline, but there's nothing wrong with this country that a real president couldn't cure.

John R. Bolton

[Recalling George H. W. Bush's Secretary of State James Baker:]...the best secretary of state since Dean Acheson. I say that because he and Bush 41 had an incredibly tempestuous period in history, and they navigated through it with great success.

John R. Bolton

People have said to me, 'Well, if you ran you might get more speaking appearances, and you could sell another book.' Frankly, that's the last thing on my mind. If I get in, I'll get in to win.

John R. Bolton

... it's absolutely critical that we have a more informed debate on foreign and national-security policy than we've had the last two years. [regarding first half of Obama term].

John R. Bolton

I'm against abortion as a form of birth control, and I basically hold to the Reagan position.

John R. Bolton

[Recalling Bill Clinton, a Yale University classmate:] I remember him as very gregarious, never in class, always talking to someone out in the hallway or in the dining room or something like that. I remember her (Hillary Rodham Clinton) as very rigid, unfriendly, hard-core left-winger.

John R. Bolton

The critical oil and natural gas producing region that we fought so many wars to try and protect our economy from the adverse impact of losing that supply or having it available only at very high prices.

John R. Bolton

There's no such thing as the United Nations. If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.

John R. Bolton

There is no excuse for waste, fraud, and abuse in the Defense Department budget.

John R. Bolton

Negotiation is not a policy. It's a technique. It's something you use when it's to your advantage, and something that you don't use when it's not to your advantage.

John R. Bolton

Obama will be very good at that point at pretending to be the commander-in-chief. We have to have a Republican who will be able to look him in the eye and beat him in that debate. You can have lots of people writing talking points for you, and you can have lots of people writing posts on your website, but, out there, it's one on one. And if we're not prepared to win that debate-we're gonna be in trouble.

John R. Bolton

I've heard over and over that people don't vote on the basis of foreign policy.

John R. Bolton

There's no such thing as the United Nations.

John R. Bolton

Diplomacy is not an end in itself if it does not advance U.S. interests.

John R. Bolton

There is no patriotic obligation to help advance the career of a politician who is otherwise pursuing interests that are fundamentally antithetical to your values. That's not the call of patriotism.

John R. Bolton

People say you favor assassination, what do you think war is? Except that it's assassination on a much larger scale, a much more horrific scale.

John R. Bolton

I'm obviously aware that people are quite focused on the economy rather than foreign policy issues, but that is something that should and can be altered as people see the nature of the threats around the world that we face.

John R. Bolton