A former long time aide to Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton claims that "deep in his heart," Bolton "believes the president is a moron.”

The New Yorker published the quotes in a profile of Bolton on Monday, which also included statements from an anonymous Western diplomat saying Bolton "had to cut his balls off" and give them to Trump in order to get his West Wing position.

Haaretz Weekly Ep. 25 0:00 -- : -- 15 Skip 15 seconds backwards Play audio 15 Skip 15 seconds ahead 1 X Change playback rate from 1 to 1 Mute audio

Read more: U.S.'s Bolton urges Venezuelan military support after Guaido seeks backing

The article by Dexter Filkins quotes Mark Groombridge, who worked with Bolton for 15 years and advised him while Bolton served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush.

“John is thinking, 'To the extent I can modify or mollify the President’s actions, I will,'” Groombridge argued. “He is truly a patriot. But I wonder how he goes into work every day, because deep in his heart he believes the president is a moron.”

Given that "Trump does not want war," the diplomat argued Bolton must have had to work hard to convince Trump to hire him, saying "to get the job, Bolton had to cut his balls off and put them on Trump's desk."

In 2017, citing 12 unnamed current and past administration officials in their report, NBC said that then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Trump had grown increasingly aggravated with each other.

Tillerson was quoted as having called Trump a "moron" in a room of members of the administration at the end of a two-hour meeting in the Pentagon on July 20, 2017. Trump would later challenge Tillerson to an IQ test and Tillerson was removed by Trump in March 2018.