Former Ambassador John Bolton, President Trump’s National Security Advisor in his first term, told CNN host Kasie Hunt it is “delusional” for Trump to think he can pick Iran’s next leader. “It’s equally a mistake to think that after he picks the new supreme leader, that he’ll just make deals with him,” Bolton said.

KASIE HUNT, CNN: Let’s start with what the president told Axios today. He told Barack Ravid that he needs to have a role in choosing the next leader and that the son of the now late supreme leader is a lightweight. What’s your reaction? JOHN BOLTON: I think the polite thing to say is it’s delusional. The idea that the ayatollahs that formed the ruling circles of this regime are going to care what Donald Trump thinks is a mistake. And it’s equally a mistake to think that after he picks the new supreme leader that he’ll just make deals with him like he did with Delcie. The failure to remove Delcie Rodriguez and the other Chavistas still ruling in Venezuela means that the regime is still in place. And Iraq is not Venezuela. It means there that whomever is chosen as supreme leader will be the entire deep state, including 200,000 Revolutionary Guard soldiers still in place. So I don’t know where he gets his information about how things work in Tehran. But but it’s a strange comment. Let’s put it that way. HUNT:You, of course, are are well known as someone who has been a traditional hawk on foreign policy. You have spent a lot of time, energy focus on warning about the dangers of Iran based on what you have seen so far of this war. Do you think that the United States and the world are going to be safer and more secure with this action having been having been taken or not? BOLTON: Well, we have to see how it turns out. I think the objective of regime change, which the president stated before his advisers tried to walk it back, is the correct objective. And I think to date, at least the military side of this is going very well. What I’m concerned about is the political side. I don’t think the president led the American people as presidents need to do in support of regime change. And I think he’s now in political difficulty in the general population for that reason. He clearly did not work the congressional side of things, notwithstanding the two victories he’s going to have on war powers resolutions. I think Congress is still shaky. He did no consultations with our allies, which is a mistake. And what I’m most worried about, frankly, is the extent of his consultations with the Iranian opposition. They are going to have to carry the major part of the burden inside the country. We need to know from them who are possible defectors, how they’re going to fragment the regime at the top and really affect the regime change, how to coordinate with the military efforts. And I’m very worried, apart from this chatter about the Kurds in northwest Iran, that we’ve really done that effectively.

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