John Bolton goes from Fox News contributor to subject of criticism

Fox News personalities are questioning the motives of their former longtime colleague John Bolton after an explosive New York Times story said that Bolton wrote in his book manuscript that President Trump tied aid to Ukraine to his request that the country announce investigations of the Bidens.

Bolton, who served as Trump’s national security adviser during the time period in which aid to Ukraine was held up, was a Fox News contributor for 11 years, and only left the job in order to join the Trump administration.

Bolton continues to have friendly relationships with some of his former colleagues. “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade, for instance, noted Bolton’s past position at Fox and said Bolton “has always been upstanding and very candid.”

But some commentators on the network have suggested that Bolton’s apparent admissions are part of a marketing strategy for his book — just like Trump.

On Monday’s “Fox & Friends,” one of Trump’s favorite shows — and a program on which Bolton used to appear often — co-host Steve Doocy said the timing of The Times’ story was “curious.” A pre-order page for Bolton’s book, “The Room Where It Happened,” appeared on Amazon soon after The Times’ story came out on Sunday.

“He’s selling a book,” co-host Ainsley Earhardt said.

“That’s got to be a coincidence,” said Dan Bongino, a Fox News contributor, in a sarcastic tone.

Bongino also tweeted that “nobody cares” about what Bolton has to say, and Trump retweeted the message.

Fox’s hourly coverage of Bolton was just one indication that many people do, in fact, care a lot.

Appearing later on “Fox & Friends,” Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Fox contributor, also appeared to jab Bolton. In comments dripping with sarcasm, Huckabee said, “The timing is just a little bit too cute. And I’m sure there was nothing coordinated.”

Monday on “Outnumbered,” Fox’s midday show featuring a roundtable of network personalities, Fox Business host Kennedy Montgomery accused Bolton of leaking to The Times, calling him an “unknown quantity.”

“The driver now seems to be that he has a book coming out on March 17th,” Kennedy said. “And it’s already available for pre-sale now, and his lawyer is saying, ‘We don’t know! This leak must have come from the White House!’ No the leak clearly came from his team.”

Later in the day, Bolton and his book agents and his publisher all denied that, saying “there was absolutely no coordination with the New York Times or anyone else regarding the appearance of information about his book.”

Soon after The Times story dropped on Sunday night, Fox contributor Tammy Bruce appeared on the network and noted she had been “a big supporter” of Bolton in the past. Bruce, however, suggested the former national security adviser was likely “thinking of his book deal” when making decisions.

“He has a history and a background that one would think would put this below him,” Bruce said. “And I think he should begin to consider the nature of the statement that it would make to people like me who have supported him for ages, for years, for him to do this.”

On “Fox & Friends,” during an interview with White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who regularly appears on Fox News but has yet to hold an on-camera briefing, Earhardt pointed out the book “happens to be available for pre-sale on Amazon today.”

“The fact that magically, again, the book ordering online pre-order link popped up a couple hours after all this hit — you know, it’s sad but I think the timing is very suspect,” Grisham said.

The prospect of damaging details about Trump also caused some of the President’s boosters, including those at Fox, to accuse Bolton of disloyalty.

Mark Levin, who hosts a weekend Fox News show and regularly appears on the network, tweeted Monday, “By the way, having served at the highest levels of government in the Reagan administration, I’ve never written a book and would never write a book about my interactions or disagreements with colleagues and superiors, let alone the president.”

“On a daily basis, there are robust and passionate discussions about policy, etc., in every administration,” Levin added. “Publishers pay big bucks for these kinds of books. And often the author is disgruntled and self-serving in their narrative and trying to settle scores.”

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative talk show host who is not a paid Fox contributor but whose comments are often played on the air, said on his radio program, “I’ve had dinner with John Bolton a couple times. I’ve met him two or three times, and if this passage in the book is true, and this is actually what’s intending, it’s not the John Bolton I thought I knew, this kind of disloyalty.”

Bolton left the administration last September. It is unclear when he started to write the book. His deal with the publisher, Simon & Schuster, was first reported in November. Simon & Schuster didn’t confirm the existence of the book until the Amazon page was posted on Sunday.

According to a spokeswoman for Bolton, the draft of the book “was transmitted to the White House for pre-publication review by the National Security Council.”

A person with knowledge of discussions over the book told CNN Business on Monday that Bolton is now “assessing his options.”

Responding to criticism of his public silence during the impeachment probe, the person said “Bolton submitted to the White House out of an abundance of caution and tried to follow the process.”

But “that process has been breached,” the source said, referring to the details in Sunday night’s Times story. So he is “assessing his options.”

The book currently ranks in the top 100 on Amazon’s best selling books chart. On Monday afternoon it was at No. 13.