Bolton says US not isolationist

U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton is countering the notion that the United States is isolationist, saying that Trump’s participation in international celebrations marking the end of World War I shows “his commitment to a common defense.”

Bolton said Friday in Paris that throughout U.S. history, “we were never isolationist,” just not always focused on Europe.

Trump has alienated some European allies, notably by pulling out of agreements such as the Iranian nuclear accord and Paris climate agreement.

Asked about the U.S. decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Bolton said the treaty has been subsumed by technological advances since it was signed in the 1980s. He reiterated that Russia is in violation of the treaty, which Moscow denies.