Bolton: Trump 'can't tell the difference' between true and false

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton said Thursday that former President Donald Trump has trouble differentiating between fact and fiction.

“Look, Trump can't tell the difference between what's true and what's false,” Bolton said on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.” “It's not that he lies a lot, because to lie, you have to do it consciously. He just can't tell the difference.”

His comments are in reaction to Trump’s spontaneous Thursday press conference. The session lasted over an hour, in which Trump answered questions from the press regarding his adversary, Vice President Harris, and the election, as well as strategy and policies.

At one point, Trump claimed that others on his team used to call for Hillary Clinton’s imprisonment, saying he never wanted that for a former first lady. 

“I was very protective of her,” he said. “I think my people understand it. They used to say,’ Lock her up, lock her up.’ And I'd say, 'Just relax, please, folks.'”

Trump led rally crowds in “lock her up” chants several times during the 2016 campaign. 

“If it doesn't comport with anybody else, he doesn't really care, and he's had decades of getting away with it,” Bolton added. “So in his mind, the truth is whatever he wants it to be.”

During the press conference, Trump also floated a theory that was reminiscent of the election denialism he participated in during the 2020 elections. He told reporters that it was likely  “unconstitutional” for Harris to be the Democratic nominee without going through the primary.

“It's another demonstration how little of American history Trump knows,” Bolton said.

Bolton also noted that the move could be the former president testing out different arguments to challenge the election results if he loses.

“Trump never loses. And so, if he's not declared the winner of 2024, as in 2020, it must be because he was treated unfairly, yet again. It was stolen, yet again,” Bolton concluded.