Why Donald Trump will be remembered as America’s ‘worst president ever’
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John Bolton, a former security advisor to Donald Trump tells The News Agents about what he learned about the president during his first term in office – and why he believes the history books won’t remember him fondly.
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In brief…
- John Bolton, who worked for Trump in 2018-2019, tells The News Agents the president will be remembered as America’s “worst president ever”.
- Bolton believes Trump’s free-falling approval rating, and the threat of a US recession looming, could finally result in his own party finally standing up to his actions and comments as president.
- Despite the apparent damage caused to the party under Trump’s administration, Bolton strongly believes the Republicans will “snap back” into shape when Trump eventually leaves The White House.
What’s the story?
John Bolton served as Donald Trump’s security adviser during his first four years in The White House, from 2018 to 2019.
In 2025, he says his former boss will be remembered as America’s worst ever president.
Bolton, who also served in Ronald Reagan’s administration in the 1980s, among other senior roles in US government during his career, tells The News Agents Trump is too self-obsessed to understand why his actions as president – such as his tariffs policy – have been so widely condemned.
“He cares about what he thinks about himself and what he hears about himself,” Bolton says.
“He doesn't have the wit to see that it's a bigger world than just what happens in the confines of the West Wing.”
Bolton says Trump is hard to predict because his decisions are "almost entirely transactional", and that he is driven by "glory" and what will bring the biggest benefit to him.
He believes the only thing that could change Trump’s self-perception would be if the US economy went into recession after the second quarter of 2025.
For a country to enter a recession, its GDP must decline in two consecutive quarters – and with a 0.3% decline during the first of the year, America is halfway there.
“The people who voted for Trump wanted relief from prices that they felt under Biden,” Bolton says.
“They wanted a growing economy. They remembered the economy before COVID. They gave the presidency to Trump – and if he doesn't deliver, the consequences will be swift.”
Already, Trump’s approval rating is the lowest for any president, after 100 days in the job, since 1945.
Will Trump be remembered as 'the worst president ever'?
What does the future hold for Trump in US politics?
With backlash to Trump’s tariffs in America and overseas, plunging approval ratings and recession looming, Bolton believes the president could soon face backlash a little closer to home in the coming weeks and months.
“Too many Republicans have not stood up to Trump, but I'm hoping that will change soon,” he says.
“The polls around the 100 day anniversary uniformly showed Trump's approval disapproval rating 10 points or more underwater, and that's even before news that the gross domestic product declined in the first quarter.
“I expect more Republican opposition in Congress, because they fear for their electoral chances.”
But of course it’s not just Republicans who have failed to stand up to any of Trump’s outlandish actions and comments, Bolton also questions what happened to the party’s opposition.
“Where is the Democratic Party these days? Have you caught sight of them in Washington? I can't find them,” he says, baffled.
“They're almost invisible. They're a non-force in Congress, and that's a problem when the opposition party can't seem to open the door.”
How will Trump be remembered – and can the Republican Party rebuild?
Some political experts have questioned whether MAGA-mentality has taken over the core values of the US Republican Party, and whether it can survive the impact of a second Trump presidency – especially if things tank as some have predicted.
But Bolton remains optimistic about the future of the party, and its resilience in the face of Trump.
“The day Trump disappears from the scene, the party will begin to snap back into what it remains at its base,” Bolton says.
“That’s basically a Reagan-ite party on foreign policy and a centre right party on domestic issues.
“Trump has a very strong and loyal base, but it's not even a majority of the Republican Party, let alone the country as a whole.”
He is far less optimistic about Trump’s future, however, and how his time in power will be remembered.
“I do not think he's an existential threat, the Republic is much stronger than Donald Trump,” he adds.
“Trump will have a very unique place in American history as our worst president ever.”
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
