© Reuters / David MdzinarishviliJohn Bolton
"I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House... I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning," Trump tweeted. The president said that he and others in the administration "strongly" disagreed with many of Bolton's decisions.
Bolton gave a different account of events, however, implying on Twitter that his resignation wasn't a completely done deal yet, or at least he had not been informed about it.
Trump made the announcement just 90 minutes before Bolton was to appear at a joint press-conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Bolton was appointed national security advisor on April 9, 2018, and proceeded to do everything to live up to his reputation as a staunch war hawk. He advocated the use of force and regime change in Syria, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran. The 70-year-old also strongly supported the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Tehran and the termination of non-proliferation agreements with Russia.
Trump recently kept Bolton sidelined from his key international meetings as he was looking for opportunities to reinvigorate dialogue with Iran and North Korea. The president had previously complained that the advisor was too eager to get the US into another war.
Comment: Twitter weighs in:
So has Trump finally started to clean house? Many have speculated that he was blocked from his first choice appointments for the most influential cabinet posts, and pressured into giving the jobs to those approved by the Deep State.