Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton sharply criticized President Obama's speech in Berlin on Fox News Wednesday, calling it "pretty thin on substance" and a capper to a "pretty bad trip to Europe" overall, particularly after his icy meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin regarding the country's conflicting opinions on Syria.
Obama spoke near the historic Brandenburg Gate about nuclear arms reduction and his seeking of "negotiated cuts" with Russia in the name of future safety:
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: What did the American people get out of this trip to Germany? He had to go the G8, but what did we get out of Germany?
JOHN BOLTON: I think this was more of a publicity stunt for Obama, looking to give a speech about reduction of American nuclear capabilities in a very historic venue. The speech itself was pretty thin on substance, and obviously the crowd wasn't wildly interested in the subject matter. But it just caps a pretty bad trip to Europe for the president all in all, starting with the G8, where Vladimir Putin of Russia essentially told him to take a hike on Syria, and it really went downhill from there.
VAN SUSTEREN: Why have things gotten so frosty with Russia? Is it over Syria? We're really at loggerheads with Russia on Syria.
BOLTON: I think it's a continuation of the last ten years. The Obama administration came in pledging to press the reset button in relations with Russia, which were pretty frosty because of things Russia was doing at the end of the Bush administration. And after making concession after concession on national missile defense, on a variety of other things, the Russian reaction was, 'You haven't given us enough.' And on Syria, the administration has had this wrong for the last two years. Our interests and Russia in Syria are fundamentally different.