US President Donald Trump abruptly fired his national security adviser John Bolton, saying on Tuesday he and Bolton had serious policy disagreements.
“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,” Trump tweeted.
“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,” he added.
Bolton offered a different version of events, however, saying in a tweet that he had offered his resignation on Monday night and Trump said “let’s talk about it tomorrow”.
The exit comes amid reports that there was disagreement within the administration over Trump’s decision to host a now-cancelled meeting with Taliban leaders at Camp David.
Bolton, a leading foreign policy hawk, was widely known to have pressed the president for a harder line on issues such as North Korea. Bolton, also a chief architect of Trump’s strong stance on Iran, had advocated a tougher approach on Russia and Afghanistan.
Trump had sometimes joked about Bolton’s image as a warmonger, reportedly saying in one Oval Office meeting that “John has never seen a war he doesn’t like.”
Bolton was scheduled to hold a press briefing with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later on Tuesday.
Bolton was Trump’s third national security adviser after Michael Flynn and HR McMaster.
Source:Aljazeera.com
