Bolton's Book

By: Eduardo del Buey

"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

Eleven centuries ago, Persian poet and mystic Omar Khayyam wrote these words, and they continue to ring true today.

When the Trump administration finally rests in the dustbin of history, John Bolton’s book will be there to remind the world of the debacle that this administration has been, and how its mark on history will be hard to erase.

The initial releases of the book’s content outline what most of us have learned about Trump – that he is an ignorant, avaricious, mendacious individual ready to sell out his country to whomever can provide him with any tangible benefit.

Abraham Lincoln once said that a house divided against itself cannot stand.

The United States is deeply divided. 

While a change of government will be start, it will take much more than this to begin to address the serious and significant problems that the country faces. 

A president of the United States who will do anything to cling to power and even expand his hold on it is a danger to the country and voters willing to follow such a president are a danger unto themselves. 

Regardless of the election results, Trump’s core followers will likely continue to exert political pressure and resist a unifying message. 

The Trump presidency has deepened internal divisions and weakened democratic institutions. And he is likely not done yet. His mismanagement of the pandemic as well as the current racial unrest reminds one of the sixties, when cities burnt, and the Vietnam war divided the country deeply.

Where will this continuing polarization lead? First, if Trump is re-elected, a liberal democratic United States could well be lost indefinitely. Secondly, the Western Alliance that has held fast for 75 years will continue to weaken sharply or collapse entirely into irrelevance. Thirdly, global hegemony could well devolve to China (with its economic might) and Russia (with its stranglehold on Europe’s energy supply). 

In addition, both China and Russia appeal to leaders of developing countries as neither demands respect for human rights or other trappings of democracy as conditions for good relations and economic benefits. 

Bolton reports that Trump asked Chinese President Xi to help him in his reelection campaign. This, together with Russian meddling in the U.S. electoral process, and Trump’s own initiatives to restrict voting, do not augur well for the November election. 

Finally, Trump acceded to Xi’s plan to create concentration camps in which to continue China’s persecution of its Uighur Muslim minority, thus underscoring Trump’s support of Chinese interests for his own personal gain while forgoing fundamental American values and interests. 

As a former darling of FOX News and the American right, Bolton may be more credible than other Trump detractors. One may criticize him for not speaking out during the impeachment process and for preferring to wait until his book is released to reap the financial rewards.

One cannot, however, doubt the tone and tenor of his book since it confirms what we have learnt over the years about Trump -- not only from myriad other credible sources, but also through Trump’s own egregious words and actions. 

This book is but another moving finger that, having writ, will move on. 

But who can tell where it’s bound?

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Edición: Enrique Álvarez