Trump Abruptly Fires Hardliner NSA John Bolton

Strongly disagreed with many of his suggestions, as did others in the administration, the U.S. President said in a tweet

- Sriram Lakshman

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, considered the most hawkish among senior Trump administration officials, left his post on Tuesday.

Mr. Bolton, the third National Security Adviser in the current administration, had a long list of differences with U.S. President Donald Trump on a range of security and foreign policy issues — including Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan, leading to his departure around midday on Tuesday.

“I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Mr. Trump said in a tweet.

“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. I thank John very much for his service,” he said, adding that he would name a new NSA next week.

‘Different versions’

Mr Bolton’s account of his departure differed from that of his former boss.

“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” read a tweet from Mr. Bolton, that followed Mr Trump’s tweet.