Bolton: Zelensky lecturing Trump won’t end well

John Bolton, President Trump’s former national security adviser, said Thursday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lecturing the president won’t end well for him, “given Trump’s difficult political position here at home.” Appearing on NewsNation’s “On Balance,” Bolton told host Leland Vittert that Zelensky’s criticism of Trump would “end well” for him. “Let’s face it, everything Trump is doing now, whether it’s relating to the war with Iran, whether it’s the Russia-Ukraine war, is not based on strategic calculations of United States national interest,” Bolton said. “It’s based on electoral fears about what’s going to happen on Nov. 3. So Zelensky, number one, isn’t even talking the same language as Trump is at this point,” he continued. “And as I say, I just don’t think wrestling with Trump in this kind of schoolyard way ever advances anybody else’s interest.” Vittert followed up by asking Bolton if Zelensky was receiving bad advice on how to “handle” Trump. “Yeah, I think that’s true. I mean, I can understand. Zelensky’s angry and frustrated. My advice is go into your office, close the door and scream at the wall. Screaming at Trump just eggs him on,” Bolton answered, adding that he believed Trump blaming Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries for rising diesel prices “is bonkers.” Bolton also criticized Trump’s Russian oil deal, which would supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U. S. and global marketplace, saying “it relegitimizes the Putin government, which has had real difficulty trying to present any kind of legitimate case for what it’s doing in Ukraine.” The former national security adviser’s remarks come after Zelensky announced earlier this week that the Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire was over. He reportedly resumed drone attacks on Russian refineries Thursday in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow. Trump unveiled the truce on Sunday, which he claimed the Kremlin agreed to. Kyiv alleged after Sunday that Russia had broken the ceasefire, continuing strikes against Ukraine, according to Reuters, but Trump told reporters, “I’ll let you know about that later.” “They’re hitting each other, but it’ll all come to an end. They both want it to come to an end, they just don’t know how to get there,” he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump are expected to meet with other world leaders in December at the Group of 20 summit in Florida. Zelensky stated in a September interview with German news service DW he was willing to attend the summit to meet with Putin. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.