Bolton Book Says Trump Sought Xi’s 2020 Help, Roiling Race Anew

New book further burdens president’s re-election effort
Highest-ranking Trump official to publish account of his work

Watch: Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump 2020 campaign, said Bolton is just trying to sell books. (Source: Bloomberg)

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By Jordan Fabian and Nick Wadhams

June 17, 2020 at 8:53 PM UTC

Updated on

June 18, 2020 at 11:09 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Former National Security Advisor John Bolton writes in a new book that President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help him win re-election by buying more U.S. farm products, according to an excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal.

The disclosure is part of a devastating portrayal of Trump’s conduct of foreign policy by Bolton, the most senior official in this White House so far to publish an account of his experience. The book is poised to further burden Trump’s already struggling effort to secure a second term.