President Donald Trump has fired his National Security Adviser John Bolton.
“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore….I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump said on Twitter Tuesday.
He thanked Bolton for his service and said he would be naming a replacement next week.
I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House. I disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions, as did others in the Administration, and therefore….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
….I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning. I thank John very much for his service. I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
Bolton, in a quick and immediate response on Twitter said: “I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) September 10, 2019
“They just didn’t align on many issues,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters, denying there was one single issue that caused the break between Trump and Bolton.
The White House says Charlie Kupperman will serve as acting National Security Adviser.
Trump’s announcement came just 90 minutes before Bolton was to appear alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the White House press room podium for a briefing.
Bolton was chosen by Trump in March of 2018 to replace H.R. McMaster, a former Army lieutenant general, as national security adviser.
Trump’s first choice for the position, Michael Flynn, also a retired Army lieutenant general, lasted less than a month in the job before being fired. He was subsequently convicted of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about a December 2016 conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States and is awaiting sentencing.
Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was brought into this administration after a stint as a commentator on the Fox News Channel, which is generally supportive of President Trump.
Bolton who had previously served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, also held roles in the Justice and State departments.
“I like John Bolton. I think he sees the world for what it is,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a confidante of the president and a member of the foreign relations committee, told reporters, noting the deterioration of the personal relationship between the Trump and the national security advisor.
“There’s been some public discussions about Bolton being on the other side of meeting the Taliban. That probably was a bridge too far. I don’t know what happened there,” added Graham.
Bolton had reportedly been opposed to plans to invite Taliban members as well as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to the presidential retreat of Camp David for talks aimed at solidifying a U.S.-Taliban peace deal. Trump, after a recent Taliban attack that killed a U.S. soldier, decided to cancel the meeting.
There have also been indications that Bolton, regarded as a hardliner on security issues, also differed with the president on the U.S. approach to Iran and North Korea.
Trump had noted Bolton’s reputation as a hawk, once saying in the Oval Office that “John has never seen a war he doesn’t like.”
Trump never appeared to warm to Bolton and had expressed reservations about him prior to hiring him, including making comments about Bolton’s bushy mustache.
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