Trump wanted John Bolton as secretary of state but feared ‘son of a b---h’ Rand Paul would block nomination: book

President Trump called Rand Paul an expletive in 2018 while fuming that he would’ve tapped John Bolton as his second secretary of state if it wasn’t for the bull-headed Republican senator, according to the former national security adviser’s new book.

Bolton’s bombshell of a memoir, “The Room Where It Happened,” recounts that Trump raised his scorn for Paul during a March 2018 Oval Office meeting while musing about wanting to fire then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“I’d love to have you over there,” Trump told Bolton, according to the book, a copy of which was obtained by the Daily News ahead of its June 23 publication.

But, the president continued, “That son of a b---h Rand Paul will vote against you.”

“And McConnell is worried he may persuade other Republicans, who need his vote on judges and other things,” Trump said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Bolton had at the time yet to join the administration and was shopping for senior diplomatic or national security posts.

In the same Oval Office sit-down, Bolton pointed out to Trump he was also interested in the national security adviser position, which does not require Senate confirmation.

“So I don’t have to worry about those clowns up there?” Trump said, referring to Senate Republicans, according to the book.

“Right,” Bolton responded.

About a month later, Trump hired Bolton as national security adviser.

Paul, a hardened conservative with an isolationist streak, is known to not be a fan of Bolton, who favors a more hawkish approach to foreign policy.

The White House declined to comment on Friday.

Doug Stafford, a senior adviser to Paul, didn’t answer questions about Trump’s slight, but confirmed that the Kentucky senator would’ve voted down a hypothetical Bolton nomination for secretary of state.

“Hell yes Senator Paul would have blocked a nomination of warmonger Bolton,” Stafford told The News.

After being hired as national security adviser, Bolton writes in his book that he learned Paul privately called him “the worst f--king decision” Trump had made.

Bolton’s book has rocked the Trump White House since excerpts first started leaking out Wednesday.

One of the book’s most damaging claims is the allegation that Trump pleaded with China to help him win reelection. Bolton also alleges Trump routinely bent over backwards for authoritarian leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including doing them “personal favors” by attempting to derail U.S. criminal investigations into companies in their countries.

Without much success, the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block Bolton’s book from being published over allegations that it’s jam-packed with classified information.