Author: John Bolton

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 978-1-9821-4803-4

How often have you asked yourself if I can only be the fly on the wall listening and discovering the inner workings transpiring in the White House? Well, you don’t have to stick around very long. Pick up a copy of John Bolton’s The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir. One caveat, the 494-page narrative, is not a quick read.

This comprehensive memoir's significance lies not so much in criticism of Donald Trump's inactions and his performances, which in themselves are considerable. Still, it offers readers a deeper awareness of the inner functions of the White House concerning international treaties, foreign politics concerning China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Venezuela, Ukraine, Turkey, and other countries, economic policies, immigration, home security, and several diverse sectors that could affect the normal lives of Americans.

Quoting from the inner flap of the book, Bolton states: “The differences between this presidency and previous ones I had served were stunning.” I should mention that previous to serving as National Security Advisor to President Trump for seventeen months from April 2018 to September 2019, Bolton worked as United States Assistant Attorney General from 1985 to 1989. He served in the State Department as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1989 to 1993 and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 2001 to 2005. Bolton claims he resigned, while Trump says I sacked him. Will we ever know the truth?

The opening chapter of the volume summarizes Bolton’s grievance in his bid to become National Security Advisor to Trump. We read about the many months he is jerked around by Trump and his team, and initially, Trump did not wish to offer him this position. One reason for not engaging him was the flimsy excuse related to Bolton’s mustache.

Clear throughout Bolton’s accounts is the dysfunction prevalent in the White House under Trump. In a word, chaos! Unfortunately, this disorder, which has led to the deaths of thousands of individuals, still flourishes today with the horrible mishandling of Covid-19.

Bolton neatly sums it all up when he points out: “It took me about a month after my arrival at the Trump White House to have any chance to assess systematically how things worked inside. Dysfunctionality arose often unfolding through specific policy issues of which I have described throughout the book.” He further remarks that Trump was way over his head in comprehending complex issues. He would have merely two intelligence briefings per week. In most of these encounters, he spoke at greater length than his aides, frequently on matters unrelated to the affairs at hand.

Although some chapters rehash information that we previously have read or learned about, there were some fascinating revelations involving Trump’s indecisive decisions and his differences with Bolton. For example, Bolton, a hawk with external affairs, did not agree with Trump to call off war games to placate Kim Yong Chol. There was again the matter of calling off an attack on Iran because Trump was notified that there would simply be 150 casualties.

One difficulty I experienced with the book was that Bolton overwrote it, causing me to lose interest halfway through my reading. An able editor would have cleaned up the memoir’s poor prose style and narrative form, which doesn’t capture the atmosphere whenever Trump was babbling, ranting, or exposing his illiteracy during sessions. Another irritant was that Bolton loves taking meticulous notes of all kinds of superfluous details, but did he have to include them ad nauseam? I also found that the memoir is inflated with Bolton’s self-importance and puffed up superego, wherein in the end, I get the impression that he surprisingly accomplished very little in his pursuit to hold sway over Trump and impose his theories and policies.