Bolton: Trump taking Kim's word on Warmbier 'doesn't mean that he accepts it as reality'
National security adviser John Bolton on Sunday argued that just because President Trump said he took North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's word that the strongman did not know about the death of American Otto Warmbier, the president may not actually believe it.
"When he says 'I'm going to take him at his word,' it doesn't mean that he accepts it as reality. It means that he accepts that was what Kim Jong Un said," Bolton said on "Fox News Sunday."
Anchor Chris Wallace pressed Bolton on Trump's habit of giving credence to the explanations of autocrats over evidence presented by U.S. intelligence agencies. Bolton suggested that Trump's efforts to negotiate American interests is more complex than addressing one particular statement from a foreign leader.
In addition to Kim, Trump has previously cited Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's denial that he was involved in the death of Jamal Khashoggi, and Russian president Vladimir Putin's insistence that he did not know of efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/bolton-trump-taking-kims-word-on-warmbier-doesnt-mean-that-he-accepts-it-as-reality/ar-BBUjDIy?li=BBnbcA1
So it's alternative reality. Thanks for the clarification. 
= new reply since forum marked as read
