SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2024
Kamala Harris' nomination has left America in uncharted waters on whether or not her campaign will continue to gain support or fall behind. I believe for the short term she'll continue to rise. It's clear Donald Trump isn't sure how to respond to this.

And the Biden administration has again fallen victim to its own foreign policy, this time in Venezuela.

Entirely predictably, Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate regime has stolen its second straight presidential election, propelled by White House concessions and naivete. As a result, the Venezuelan people remain under authoritarian rulers strongly backed by Russia, Cuba, China, and Iran. This is a U.S. failure by any measure.

I am launching a new Focus Group regarding Venezuela and Maduro’s authoritarian regime. Will you please join?

JOIN THE FOCUS GROUP >> CLICK HERE

Many thanks and have a safe weekend,
Ambassador John Bolton

Driving the Week: Driving the Week: I wrote an op-ed for the Washington Examiner about the political chaos unraveling in Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro, now fully in control of Venezuela’s governmental institutions, has systematically dismantled opposition parties. He intimidated anti-regime political leaders ahead of the next presidential election, disqualifying candidates such as Maria Corina Machado, the opposition’s main leader.

Although some observers believe Maduro has been weakened, there is no sign his masters in Moscow, Havanna, Tehran, et al., have gotten the memo. Ensuring that they do should also be a U.S. diplomatic priority.

America failed the Venezuelan people once before. We must not do so again.

READ THE FULL OP-ED

This week, five American service personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq. There have been over 150 attacks on Americans and our partners in the Middle East since October 7th, 2023. Many are bracing for further escalations at the hands of Iran in the wake of last week's assassinations of senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

Critical Context: Since October 7, there have been over 150 Iranian attacks on Americans and our partners in the Middle East. Joe Biden and his advisors have one strategy to deal with our enemies: diplomatic talk. They think that simply talking to Iran is going to stop these attacks ... and yet they keep happening.

My Final Word: Regardless of what the Biden Administration is willing to acknowledge, Iran is conducting a war in the Middle East and now here in the United States.

I sat down with Newsweek to discuss the dangerous example set by President Biden on trading for hostages. While I'm glad for the individuals released, trading innocents for criminals and spies with hostile states incentivizes our enemies to detain American citizens wrongfully.

Critical Context: The Reaganite framework for getting political prisoners home is the only way we keep Americans safe from these political kidnappings. We should never swap innocent people for criminals. If people think we'll give them a sweet deal, let’s say a war criminal or murderer, in exchange for an innocent American, they'll take hostages.

My Final Word: You have to think about the concern for the people who are being held today, but our leaders and negotiators should also think about the risk to Americans tomorrow and the day after that.

Read the full interview here

I joined The Times to discuss the U.S. Presidential election and last week’s prisoner swap with Russia and Germany.

Critical Context: Kamala Harris' nomination has left America in uncharted territory on whether or not her campaign will continue to succeed or start to slip. At least for the short term, I believe she'll continue to rise. It's clear Donald Trump isn't sure how to respond.

My Final Word: I have few hopes Kamala Harris can restore America's strength on the world stage. She's part of an administration that is already perceived as weak and is encouraging our enemies like Russia, China, and Iran.

Listen to the full interview here.

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