Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush who also served in the first Bush and Reagan administrations, announced Thursday in a conference call with reporters and in a video on Facebook that he would not be seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2016.
“I believe I can make the strongest contribution to our future by continuing as a clear and consistent advocate for a strong Reaganite foreign policy that values peace through strength,” he wrote on the Facebook of his Super PAC.
The remarks Bolton said on the video were similar to what he said on the call.
“While I am not a candidate, I am certainly not going to sit this election out,” he said on the video, explaining that he would support national security candidates, stretching those issues in the Senate and House campaigns, and focus on the Republican presidential primary to “make certain foreign policy is critical to winning the nomination.”
In response to questions from reporters, Bolton said he did not think fundraising would have been an issue for him had he become a candidate, saying he thinks “funding would have been there in adequate amounts.” But he has never held elected office, which he said would make it difficult for him to run.
Bolton also said he still thinks a lot of people have trouble believing foreign policy, his expertise, is a serious issue.
When asked about an endorsement, Bolton said he could potentially give one down the line, but did not specify any candidates. He did note, however, that he will make himself available to candidates on foreign policy issues.
He also emphasized that Republicans need to be weary of Hillary Clinton, telling reporters “she does know how to talk the talk” on national security, and Republicans need to make sure they don’t allow her to get away with that because she is essentially Obama’s “ideological twin.”
Had Bolton announced he would enter the race, he would have been the seventh candidate to join the Republican primary field.
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