Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Political Consultant Roger Stone

Former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Gen. Michael Flynn

Former Secretary Of Education William J. Bennett

Heritage Foundation Economist Stephen Moore

Former Reagan Administration Member Art Laffer

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton

Pollster Pat Caddell

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani

Rudy Giuliani “Has Counseled [Trump] 'As A Close Personal Friend' About Campaign Issues”

Washington Post: Rudy Giuliani “Has Counseled [Trump] 'As A Close Personal Friend' About Campaign Issues.” The Washington Post's Robert Costa reported that Giuliani “has conferred at length with Trump at least three times in the past month ... and has counseled the real estate mogul 'as a close personal friend' about campaign issues'”:

Fresh off back-to-back victories in the Republican presidential race, Donald Trump is moving to expand his tight-knit campaign by building a political kitchen cabinet that includes former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Giuliani, who has not made an endorsement in the 2016 contest, said in an interview Sunday that he has conferred at length with Trump at least three times in the past month, both in person and by phone, and has counseled the real estate mogul “as a close personal friend” about campaign issues.

“We've been talking. Donald and me, Donald and a few other friends who know politics. He calls to check things out or I'll call him to say, 'Donald, you're going too far' or 'What you said was great' or maybe 'Change it a bit.' It's nothing formal. It's kind of a running conversation,” Giuliani said. “There is candor and there is trust.” [The Washington Post, 2/21/16]

Giuliani Has Claimed Obama Does Not Love America, Blamed ISIS On Obama, Used “Misleading” And “False” Statistics About Race And Crime, And Called Beyoncé's Super Bowl Performance A “Platform To Attack Police Officers”

Giuliani: “I Do Not Believe That The President Loves America.” Speaking at a February 2015 dinner featuring Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Giuliani said, “I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe the president loves America. ... He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country”:

Rudy Giuliani went straight for the jugular Wednesday night during a private group dinner here featuring Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker by openly questioning whether President Barack Obama “loves America.”

The former New York mayor, speaking in front of the 2016 Republican presidential contender and about 60 right-leaning business executives and conservative media types, directly challenged Obama's patriotism, discussing what he called weak foreign policy decisions and questionable public remarks when confronting terrorists.

“I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” Giuliani said during the dinner at the 21 Club, a former Prohibition-era speakeasy in midtown Manhattan. “He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.” [Politico, 2/18/15]

Giuliani: “ISIS Is An Obama Creation.” Appearing on the November 17, 2015, edition of Fox News' Hannity, Giuliani said ISIS is “filling a vacuum created by vacuous foreign policy”:

RUDY GIULIANI: This has been a very difficult weekend for me because it brings back September 11 and all the terrible memories I have of it. And the thought then, when President Bush, you know, acted so decisively and so quickly, that maybe something like this wouldn't happen again. And the reality is, this did not have to happen, if our policies were different. If President Obama had listened to Senator McCain and Senator Graham and a whole group of other people and had set up a no-fly zone in Syria five years ago, if we had gone in and we had worked with the Syrian legitimate rebels, if we had not taken our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, ISIS never would have emerged. ISIS is filling a vacuum created by a vacuous foreign policy. President Obama -- this is an Obama -- ISIS is an Obama creation. This would not have happened. Just follow me for a second. If we had 50 or 60,000 troops in Iraq, we would have been getting the intelligence that would have told us about the development of ISIS. And that would have been given to the CIA. Once you take your troops out, we have no resources, we have no real access. [Fox News, Hannity, 11/17/15]

Giuliani Has Cited “Misleading” And “False” Statistics About Race And Crime. During a November 2014 appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Giuliani touted the statistic that “93 percent of blacks in America are killed by other blacks.” Giuliani also said, “White police officers won't be there [in black areas] if you weren't killing each other 70% of the time.” The Washington Post's Fact Checker blog called Giuliani's talking point “misleading” and said it “lacks significant context.” During an appearance on Fox News' Fox & Friends to discuss the outcry over his Meet The Press comments, Giuliani claimed “only about 3 percent of whites kill blacks. They go to jail at approximately the same percentage as blacks go to jail. The conviction rate is almost exactly the same. The difference is, it's a very rare exception when a white kills a black.” PunditFact rated rated Giuliani's claim about conviction rates by race “false.” [Media Matters, 12/5/14]

Giuliani: Beyoncé's “Outrageous” Super Bowl Performance Was A “Platform To Attack” Police Officers. On the February 8 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, host Anna Kooiman lamented that Beyoncé gave “a salute to the Black Lives Matter movement” in her performance after she “got a police escort there.” Giuliani, a frequent Fox guest, called the performance “outrageous,” and claimed that Beyoncé used the Super Bowl “as a platform to attack” police officers. Giuliani concluded that he wanted to see “decent wholesome entertainment” rather than Beyoncé's “platform to attack” police:

ANNA KOOIMAN (HOST): So we're going to go ahead and show you some video then of Beyoncé's performance with Coldplay and Bruno Mars. But Beyoncé got a police escort there and then she gives a salute to the Black Lives Matter movement. DeRay Mckesson tweeted out, "#Formation shout-outs to Malcolm X & MJ were excellent." It was a nod to 1966 founding of the Black Panther Party. What did you think of that?

RUDY GIULIANI: I think it was outrageous. The halftime show -- I thought was ridiculous anyway. I don't know what the heck it was. A bunch of people bouncing around and all strange things. It was terrible.

[...]

GIULIANI: This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive. And what we should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is build up respect for police officers. And focus on the fact that when something does go wrong, OK; we'll work on that. But the vast majority of police officers risk their lives to keep us safe. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 2/8/16]

Political Consultant Roger Stone

Roger Stone Is Former Adviser To Trump And The Founder Of A Pro-Trump Super PAC

Reuters: Stone “Launched A Pro-Trump Super PAC To Attack Republican Rivals” After “Cut[ting] Ties With The Official Trump Campaign.” Reuters reported on December 18, 2015, that Roger Stone “launched a pro-Trump Super PAC to attack Republican rivals, specifically competitor Marco Rubio”:

A former top adviser to Donald Trump has launched a pro-Trump Super PAC to attack Republican rivals, specifically competitor Marco Rubio, who has quickly become one of Trump's most threatening rivals in the 2016 presidential race.

Roger Stone, a leading Republican operative who earlier this year cut ties with the official Trump campaign, launched the Committee to Restore America's Greatness, borrowing the language from Trump's Reagan-era slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

“If you think it's essential that the Republican Party nominate Donald J. Trump for President instead of Senator Marco Rubio, I urgently need your help,” Stone begins in a letter to prospective donors. “I am more convinced than ever that only Donald Trump can save this country.” [Reuters, 12/18/15]

Stone Known As “Dirty Trickster” Who Formed Anti-Clinton Group “C.U.N.T. (Citizens United Not Timid),” Pushed Clinton Murder Conspiracies

Stone Is A Notorious Republican “Dirty Trickster” Who Has Smeared The Clintons For Years. Stone, who has been described as a “dirty trickster,” has a long history of smearing Hillary Clinton, including forming the anti-Clinton group “C.U.N.T.” (Citizens United Not Timid) after he tried “to come up with words for B.I.T.C.H. and just couldn't do it.” Stone previously worked as a top political aide to Trump's presidential campaign before exiting in August. Stone says he and Trump are “on cordial terms. We talk ... Trump has been my friend for 35 years. He's still my friend.” [Media Matters, 6/5/14; Talking Points Memo, 9/2/15]

While Promoting His Book, Stone Suggested The Clintons Have “Perhaps Murder[ed]” -- Or Tampered With The Deaths Of -- Jerry Parks And Vince Foster. Appearing on the September 18 edition of The Sean Hannity Show, Stone parroted the conspiracy that the Clintons “perhaps” murdered Little Rock, AR, security contractor Jerry Parks and tampered with the death of former White House deputy counsel Vince Foster, claiming, “Hillary's goons moved the body”:

ROGER STONE: This is the definitive exposé of Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea. This book is a incredibly true story about intimidation, rape, sexual assault, drugs, greed, ambition, lies, and perhaps murder. So it is, it's the --

SEAN HANNITY (HOST): Perhaps murder?

STONE: Well because we go into the Jerry Parks case and we examine it. Parks is someone who had the goods on Bill Clinton, who dies mysteriously, and we lay out the facts for people. Vince Foster, I don't believe -- my conclusion after studying this for the book and I do address the Vince Foster thing, although not in detail, I think he killed himself, but Hillary's goons moved the body. They get the body out of the Executive Office Building because they didn't want it to be a crime scene where the Clintons' financial records would be available to the investigators. How do I know this? Hillary says it in her book, “Hard Choices.” That was her first thought when she learned that Foster was dead. Her words.

HANNITY: That's her first thought about her lifelong friend, great.

[...]

STONE: Well, and Sean, I name the two guys who moved the body. I have confirmed who moves the body on Hillary's orders, but let me just say this: Foster's found 30 yards down a muddy trail. There's no dirt or mud on his shoes. Case closed. His body was dumped. He has carpet fibers all over his body. Not Roger Stone saying that, the FBI toxicology report. That's because they rolled him in a carpet. And I name the Clintonites, the Clinton goons who moved him.

HANNITY: Who are they?

STONE: Let's wait until we get to book publication week because you'll have the exclusive on that. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 9/18/15]

Stone Co-Authored A Book Dedicated To A Holocaust Denier Who Blames A “Jewish Plot” For 9/11. Stone co-authored The Clintons' War On Women, which was dedicated to and repeatedly cites research from Victor Thorn, who wrote The Holocaust Hoax Exposed and blames a “Jewish plot” for the 9/11 attacks. [Media Matters, 11/13/15]

Stone Called Hispanic And Black Commentators “Quota Hires.” Stone labeled African-American commentator Roland Martin and Latina CNN political commentator Ana Navarro “quota hires,” calling them “so dumb and unqualified that one can reach no other conclusion.” [Media Matters, 8/4/15]

Former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Gen. Michael Flynn

Gen. Michael Flynn Has “Regular Interactions With Trump”

Bloomberg: “Experts Have Regular Interactions With Trump, Including Former Defense Intelligence Agency Head Gen. Michael Flynn.” Bloomberg's Josh Rogin reported on January 31 that former DIA Director Gen. Michael Flynn called Trump a "'superb listener' who asked 'exceptional questions'":

Following a couple of incidents in which Trump identified his foreign policy consultant -- only then to have that person deny it -- the campaign is mum on names. But other experts have regular interactions with Trump, including former Defense Intelligence Agency head Gen. Michael Flynn. Flynn, who has also met with other Republican presidential candidates, told me that Trump was a “superb listener” who asked “exceptional questions” and was interested in detail on a wide range of world issues.

“This guy is really switched on and has a strong understanding of what's going on in the world,” said Flynn. “I walked away with a much stronger impression of him than I had previously.” [Bloomberg, 1/31/16]

Flynn Used DIA Position To Push Inaccurate Claims About Clinton's Email Server

Flynn: Clinton Should Drop Out Of 2016 Election “And Let This FBI Investigation Play Out.” Flynn told The Daily Caller's Richard Pollock that Clinton “should step down [from the 2016 election] and let this FBI investigation play out” because of her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state. Flynn parroted the false claim that retroactively classified documents from Clinton's server “had to be moved off electronically or removed out of the secure site physically, then it had to be put onto an unclassified email system”:

In an exclusive interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn (Ret.) said he thought the former Secretary of State should leave the Democratic presidential race: “I think Hillary Clinton, for the good of the country, should step down and let this FBI investigation play out.”

[...]

Flynn and other high-ranking former intelligence officials told TheDCNF they are alarmed that some of the nation's most highly classified documents contained in a secretive program called the Special Access Program (SAP) were transferred to Clinton's unclassified home server.

The documents “had to be moved off electronically or removed out of the secure site physically, then it had to be put onto an unclassified email system,” Flynn said. “Someone who does this is completely irresponsible, but totally unaccountable and shows a streak of arrogance to the American public that is unworthy of anyone thinking they can run for President of the United States.”

“This is unbelievable,” Flynn said. “I don't think anybody should be talking about her being potentially the next President of the United States.” [The Daily Caller, 2/10/16]

Former Secretary Of Education William J. Bennett

Trump Reached Out To William J. Bennett “To Talk Ed. Policy,” “Drug Policy And Other Things Too”

Wash. Post's Robert Costa: Bennett “Said Trump Has Reached Out To Talk Ed. Policy.” On February 22, The Washington Post's Robert Costa tweeted that William Bennett “made a little news: said Trump has reached out to talk ed. policy. They'll talk soon.” Bennett responded that his “guess is that Trump will want to talk education and drug policy and other things too”:

Just appeared on @WilliamJBennett radio show. WJB made a little news: said Trump has reached out to talk ed. policy. They'll talk soon.

-- Robert Costa (@costareports) February 22, 2016

. @costareports my guess is that Trump will want to talk education and drug policy and other things too. Looking forward to it.

-- Bill Bennett (@WilliamJBennett) February 22, 2016

[Twitter.com, 2/22/16, 2/22/16]

Bennett Supports Having Armed Guards At Schools, Has Said He Was “Angry At Islam,” And Is An Avid Climate Change Denier

Bennett Supports Arming Teachers Or Having Armed Guards In Schools, Including In Elementary Schools. Bennett wrote a December 2012 CNN.com op-ed advocating arming teachers or having armed guards in schools, in which he invoked the Sandy Hook massacre:

On NBC's “Meet the Press” this past Sunday, I was asked how we can make our schools safer and prevent another massacre like Sandy Hook from happening again. I suggested that if one person in the school had been armed and trained to handle a firearm, it might have prevented or minimized the massacre.

“And I'm not so sure -- and I'm sure I'll get mail for this -- I'm not so sure I wouldn't want one person in a school armed, ready for this kind of thing,” I said. “The principal lunged at this guy. The school psychologist lunged at the guy. Has to be someone who's trained. Has to be someone who's responsible.”

Well, I sure did get mail. Many people agreed with me and sent me examples of their son or daughter's school that had armed security guards, police officers or school employees on the premises. Many others vehemently disagreed with me, and one dissenter even wrote that the blood of the Connecticut victims was ultimately on the hands of pro-gun rights advocates.

To that person I would ask: Suppose the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary who was killed lunging at the gunman was instead holding a firearm and was well trained to use it. Would the result have been different? Or suppose you had been in that school when the killer entered, would you have preferred to be armed?

Evidence and common sense suggest yes. [CNN.com, 12/19/12]

Bennett: “We Are Not Islamophobes. We Do Not Fear Islam, But We Are Angry At Islam.” Appearing at the September 18, 2010, Values Voter Summit, Bennett said, “We are not Islamophobes. We do not fear Islam, but we are angry at Islam.” [Values Voter Summit, 9/18/10]

Bennett: Global Warming Science Is “Reminiscent” Of “The Old Alchemy And Phrenology Stuff,” Comparable To “Medical 'Science' Under Hitler.” On the December 17, 2009, edition of Fox News' Hannity, Bennett called climate change science “reminiscent” of “the old alchemy and phrenology stuff” and compared it to “Soviet psychiatry under Stalin” and “medical 'science' under Hitler.” [Fox News, Hannity,12/17/09, 12/17/09]

Heritage Foundation Economist Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore Part Of An “Emerging Trump Council Of Wise Men”

CNBC's James Pethokoukis: Steve Moore Part Of “Emerging Trump Council Of Wise Men.” On February 22, CNBC contributor James Pethokoukis tweeted that Stephen Moore was part of an “emerging Trump council of wise men”:

So emerging Trump council of wise men: Art Laffer, Steve Moore, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Bennett

-- James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) February 22, 2016

[Twitter.com, 2/22/16]

Moore Praised Trump In A Column For The American Spectator. Moore wrote a glowing column called “America Trumped: Trump Is The Anti-Obama In Every Way” for The American Spectator after the February 9 New Hampshire primaries. Moore called Trump's victory speech “splendid” and said it was “all about love of country.” Moore continued, labeling Trump the “anti-Obama in every way” because he “emanates love for America and pledges to 'make America great again.'” Though he criticized Trump's “problem with minorities and women,” Moore praised the candidate's potential to “expand the Republican base to include independents and union Democratic voters,” adding that Trump is “getting better each day”:

Meanwhile, Trump surges. His splendid victory speech last night, ‎was all about love of country -- about patriotism.

It is striking that Trump is the anti-Obama in every way. Obama blames America first for every problem on the earth, from global warming to terrorism. Trump emanates love for America and pledges to “make America great again.”

[...]

The rub against Trump that he can't win in November looks to be wrong. Trump certainly has some profound defects and his problem with minorities and women cannot be ignored. ‎He's unpredictable and sometimes crude.

On the other hand, Trump could expand the Republican base to include independents and union Democratic voters. Trump is also getting better each day as he expands his base rather than shrinking it. Trumpmania is a Black Swann political event that we've never seen before and may not ever see again. [The American Spectator, 2/11/16]

Moore Misrepresented Studies And Statistics On Climate Change And Economics, Advocated Against Unemployment Insurance And Paid Sick Leave

Moore Distorted A NASA Scientist's Study To Claim That It Was An “Indication That [Global Warming Is] Actually Not Happening.” On the November 2 edition of Fox Business' Varney & Co., Moore, a Fox News contributor, complained that the media touts every “story that seems to validate global warming,” while ignoring studies like an October 2015 NASA report finding previously unaccounted for gains in the East Antarctic ice sheet. Moore called the study an “indication that [global warming is] actually not happening” and joked that “this might be the start of another ice age.” The lead author of theNASA study, Jay Zwally, warned that climate deniers would misuse his study, even though it does nothing to disprove the scientific consensus on global warming. [Media Matters, 11/4/15]

Media Matters: “Stephen Moore Was Caught Using Incorrect Statistics To Mislead Readers About The Relationship Between Tax Cuts And Job Creation.” On July 25, 2014, Media Matters reported that Moore “was caught using incorrect statistics to mislead readers about the relationship between tax cuts and job creation in the United States.” Moore published a Kansas City Star op-ed claiming that “places such as New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and California ... are getting clobbered by tax-cutting states.” Later that month, The Kansas City Star had to publish a correction to the op-ed, calling out Moore for “misstat[ing] job growth rates for four states and the time period covered”:

Heritage Foundation chief economist Stephen Moore was caught using incorrect statistics to mislead readers about the relationship between tax cuts and job creation in the United States.

On July 7, Moore published an op-ed in The Kansas City Star attacking economic policies favored by Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. The op-ed claimed that “places such as New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and California ... are getting clobbered by tax-cutting states.” Moore went on to attack liberals for “cherry-picking a few events” in their arguments against major tax cuts, when in fact it was Moore who cited bad data to support his claims.

On July 24, The Kansas City Star published a correction to Moore's op-ed, specifically stating that the author had “misstated job growth rates for four states and the time period covered.”

[...]

On July 25, Star columnist Yael Abouhalkah explained the correction in more detail. Abouhalkah wrote that Moore had “used outdated and inaccurate job growth information at a key point in his article” and that Moore should have used data from 2009 to 2014, rather than from 2007 to 2012. Abouhalkah also argued that “the problems with Moore's opinion article damaged his credibility on the jobs issue.” [Media Matters, 7/25/14]

Moore Called Laws Creating Paid Sick Days “Very Dangerous For Cities.” On the January 17, 2014, edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto, Moore called laws creating paid sick days “very dangerous for cities.” [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 1/17/14]

Moore Compared Unemployment Insurance To “A Paid Vacation For People.” On the January 8, 2014, edition of Fox News' America's News HQ, Stephen Moore said unemployment insurance is “like a paid vacation for people.” [Fox News, America's News HQ, 1/8/14]

Former Reagan Administration Member Art Laffer

Art Laffer Is Part Of An “Emerging Trump Council Of Wise Men,” “Met With Trump In The Fall”

CNBC's James Pethokoukis: Art Laffer Part Of “Emerging Trump Council Of Wise Men.” On February 22, CNBC contributor James Pethokoukis tweeted that Art Laffer was part of an “emerging Trump council of wise men”:

So emerging Trump council of wise men: Art Laffer, Steve Moore, Rudy Giuliani, Bill Bennett

-- James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) February 22, 2016

[Twitter.com, 2/22/16]

Washington Post: Laffer “Met With Trump In The Fall” And Would “Love To Have The Role I Had With President Reagan” In A Trump Administration. The Washington Post reported on January 21 that Laffer “met with Trump in the fall” and said he would “love to have the role I had with President Reagan” in a Trump administration:

The Republican establishment -- once seen as the force that would destroy Donald Trump's outsider candidacy -- is now learning to live with it, with some elected and unelected leaders saying they see an upside to Trump as the nominee.

[...]

Some in the party have gone to talk to Trump, hoping that he will remember them and their ideas if he wins.

“It's our job to nurture the candidates, to bring them into the fold, including Trump,” said Arthur Laffer, a famed conservative economist who met with Trump in the fall. Laffer said he has met with Cruz, too.

Asked whether he would be willing to serve in a Trump administration, Laffer said, “I'm 75. If a Republican were to win, I'd love to have the role I had with President Reagan, advising when I can on economics.” [The Washington Post, 1/21/16]

Laffer Called Minimum Wage “Black Teenage Unemployment Act” And Recommended Raising Retirement Age to 70 Because “I Love Working”

Laffer: The Minimum Wage Is Just The “Black Teenage Unemployment Act.” On the January 8, 2014, edition of Fox News' Happening Now, Laffer recommended scrapping the minimum wage for some workers, claiming that “honestly, it's just the teenage -- black teenage unemployment act”:

JENNA LEE (ANCHOR): One of the things you both agree on is maybe looking at minimum wage, and Art, you have an idea for minimum wage that you think could encourage hiring and it involves state government,so what is that plan?

LAFFER: Yeah, well the minimum wage makes no sense whatsoever to me. I mean, honestly, it's just the teenage -- black teenage unemployment act and this is the very groups that we need to have jobs not be put out of work because of the minimum wage, so I'm really very much in favor of at least for teenagers getting rid of the minimum wage so we can bring them back into the labor force, get them the skills they need to continue being productive members of our society for years and years. I mean, that's the way I'd go on minimum wage. [Fox News, Happening Now, 1/8/14]

Laffer Recommended Raising The Retirement Age To 70 Because “I Love Working.” On the June 29, 2010, edition of Fox News' Your World, Laffer suggested raising the retirement age to 70 because “I love working.” [Fox News, Your World, 6/29/10]

Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton

Trump Called John Bolton A Go-To For Military Advice

Trump Tells Chuck Todd That John Bolton Is A Go-To For Military Advice. Appearing on Meet The Press, Trump told host Chuck Todd that he “like[s] Bolton” when asked who was his “go-to” for military advice:

CHUCK TODD: Who do you talk to for military advice right now?

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I watch the shows. I mean, I really see a lot of great -- you know, when you watch your show and all of the other shows and you have the generals and --

CHUCK TODD: So you do the --

DONALD TRUMP: And you have certain people that you like --

CHUCK TODD: But is there a go-to for you? You know --

DONALD TRUMP: Probably there are --

CHUCK TODD: -- every presidential --

DONALD TRUMP: -- two or three --

CHUCK TODD: -- candidate has a go-to --

DONALD TRUMP: Yeah, probably there are two or three. I mean, I like Bolton. I think he's, you know, a tough cookie, knows what he's talking about. Jacobs is a good guy --

CHUCK TODD: Do you mean Ambassador John Bolton --

DONALD TRUMP: Yes. I think he's terrific -- [NBC, Meet The Press, 8/16/15 via The Washington Post]

Bolton Advocated For Bombing Iran Instead Of Engaging In Diplomacy, Backed Political Ads Featuring Beheading Of U.S. Journalist

Bolton Penned A 2015 New York Times Op-Ed Advocating For Bombing Iran Instead Of Engaging In Diplomacy. Bolton wrote a March 26, 2015, New York Times op-ed titled “To Stop Iran's Bomb, Bomb Iran,”claiming that “Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program” and that the “inconvenient truth is that only military action ... can accomplish what is required” to rid Iran of its nuclear program:

The inescapable conclusion is that Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program. Nor will sanctions block its building a broad and deep weapons infrastructure. The inconvenient truth is that only military action like Israel's 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein's Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor, designed and built by North Korea, can accomplish what is required. Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.

Rendering inoperable the Natanz and Fordow uranium-enrichment installations and the Arak heavy-water production facility and reactor would be priorities. So, too, would be the little-noticed but critical uranium-conversion facility at Isfahan. An attack need not destroy all of Iran's nuclear infrastructure, but by breaking key links in the nuclear-fuel cycle, it could set back its program by three to five years. The United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what's necessary. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran's opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.

Mr. Obama's fascination with an Iranian nuclear deal always had an air of unreality. But by ignoring the strategic implications of such diplomacy, these talks have triggered a potential wave of nuclear programs. The president's biggest legacy could be a thoroughly nuclear-weaponized Middle East. [The New York Times, 3/26/15]

Bolton Backed A Conservative Group That Produced Ads “Attacking Democratic Candidates With Footage Of [Journalist James] Foley's Beheading” By ISIS. Bolton, a Fox News contributor, backed conservative group Secure America Now (SAN), which had to pull ads attacking Democratic candidates “featuring footage of murdered journalist James Foley after his family sharply criticized the campaign as 'deplorable.'” From Media Matters:

A conservative group backed by several Fox News contributors has pulled ads featuring footage of murdered journalist James Foley after his family sharply criticized the campaign as “deplorable.”

Secure America Now (SAN) had been running advertisements attacking Democratic candidates with footage of Foley's beheading at the hands of ISIS. Foley's parents told New England Cable News (NECN) that the ads are “very sad” and “deplorable,” and called for them to be pulled with an apology.

[...]

The group's advisory board includes [former] Fox News host Mike Huckabee and Fox News contributors John Bolton and Pat Caddell. Despite claiming to be “non-partisan,” the group has previously been involved in projects pushing for President Obama's impeachment and more investigations into the already thoroughly-investigated attacks in Benghazi. [Media Matters, 10/17/14]

ThinkProgress: Bolton Defended Michele Bachmann's Anti-Muslim Call To Investigate Whether The Muslim Brotherhood Had Infiltrated The U.S. Government. ThinkProgress reported on July 24, 2012, that Bolton “defended Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) call for the U.S. government to investigate suggestions that government employees -- including a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- are affiliated with a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government.” Bolton made these statements on a radio show hosted by Frank Gaffney, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as a “notorious Islamophobe” and whose group was designated as a hate group in 2016:

Today on Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney's radio show, Mitt Romney foreign policy adviser John Bolton defended Rep. Michele Bachmann's (R-MN) call for the U.S. government to investigate suggestions that government employees -- including a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- are affiliated with a Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the U.S. government.

[...]

On Gaffney's radio show today (Gaffney is the brains behind Bachmann's campaign), Bolton said Bachmann and some of her fellow Republicans are just asking questions, adding that he's “mystified” by the criticism Bachmann has received:

BOLTON: What I think these members of Congress have done is simply raise the question, to a variety of inspectors general in key agencies, are your departments following their own security clearance guidelines, are they adhering to the standards that presumably everybody who seeks a security clearance should have to go through, are they making special exemptions? What is wrong with raising the question? Why is even asking whether we are living up to our standards a legitimate area of congressional oversight, why has that generated this criticism? I'm just mystified by it. [ThinkProgress, 7/24/12]

Bolton Released An NRA Ad Charging That “The Biggest Threat To National Security Is Sitting In The Oval Office.” Bolton was featured in a January National Rifle Association (NRA) ad charging that “the biggest threat to national security is sitting in the Oval Office” as a response to reports that Obama would make executive actions addressing gun violence:

The National Rifle Association is promoting the claim that President Obama is “our biggest threat to national security” in response to reports that Obama will soon take several executive actions to address gun violence.

Obama reportedly plans to announce the executive actions some time during the “next several days.” While details of Obama's proposals have not been released, several news reports indicate that Obama will shrink the “gun show loophole” by using regulatory authority to require unlicensed sellers who are engaging in high-volume gun sales to become licensed and perform background checks on customers.

The NRA responded to Obama's forthcoming proposals in a January 4 video, with the gun rights organization labeling the president “our biggest threat to national security.”

In the video, the charge that “the biggest threat to national security is sitting in the Oval Office” is made by former Bush administration official John Bolton, a Fox News contributor. Bolton has served in an NRA leadership position and frequently appears in NRA News videos to advance the gun organization's views. [Media Matters, 1/4/16]

Pollster Pat Caddell

Pat Caddell Reportedly Speaks To Donald Trump “Almost Every Day”

Gabriel Sherman: “According To A Source With Direct Knowledge, Caddell Has Been Speaking To Trump 'Almost Every Day.'” New York magazine's Gabriel Sherman called Pat Caddell “another Trump ally,” reporting that Caddell advises Trump on his campaign “almost every day”:

Another Trump ally is Fox political analyst and pollster Pat Caddell. According to a source with direct knowledge, Caddell has been speaking to Trump “almost every day” about his campaign. “Everything coming out of Trump's mouth sounds like Pat,” the source said. [New York magazine, 7/22/15]

Caddell Backed Ads Attacking Democrats Featuring Footage Of A Journalist's Beheading By ISIS

Caddell Backed A Conservative Group That Produced Ads “Attacking Democratic Candidates With Footage Of [Journalist James] Foley's Beheading” By ISIS. Like Bolton, Caddell, also a Fox News contributor, backed conservative group Secure America Now (SAN), which had to pull ads attacking Democratic candidates that “featur[ed] footage of murdered journalist James Foley after his family sharply criticized the campaign as 'deplorable.'” From Media Matters:

A conservative group backed by several Fox News contributors has pulled ads featuring footage of murdered journalist James Foley after his family sharply criticized the campaign as “deplorable.”

Secure America Now (SAN) had been running advertisements attacking Democratic candidates with footage of Foley's beheading at the hands of ISIS. Foley's parents told New England Cable News (NECN) that the ads are “very sad” and “deplorable,” and called for them to be pulled with an apology.

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The group's advisory board includes [former] Fox News host Mike Huckabee and Fox News contributors John Bolton and Pat Caddell. Despite claiming to be “non-partisan,” the group has previously been involved in projects pushing for President Obama's impeachment and more investigations into the already thoroughly-investigated attacks in Benghazi. [Media Matters, 10/17/14]