Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton accused President Barack Obama of disliking American exceptionalism — a term President-elect Donald Trump once said he doesn’t think highly of.
Bolton, who was on the shortlist to be Trump’s secretary of state, said Tuesday that America’s abstention from the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution condemning Israeli settlements “is a deep reflection of Obama’s ideology.”
“He sees Israel in much the same way he sees the United States,” Bolton said on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.” “Obama dislikes American exceptionalism; he dislikes Israeli exceptionalism.”
Last week, the U.N. council passed a resolution calling for an end to the building of Israeli settlements in territories claimed by Palestinians.
The U.S. could have vetoed the measure, but abstained, defying pressure from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think he sees this as his way to set it straight,” Bolton said of Obama and American exceptionalism. “He’s going to try to affect that in his remaining days in office.”
