Despite a last-ditch attempt to prevent publication, John Bolton’s tell-all book about his time in Donald Trump’s White House has landed with a bang. He claimed that as well as witnessing ‘stunning’ ignorance from the president, he also saw up close how Trump tried to ingratiate himself with authoritarian leaders, at the expense of the US.
The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland has been reporting on US politics for years and tells Anushka Asthana that even knowing what we do about the Trump administration, this account still has the ability to shock.