Bolton Out

[Guest]

(The Independent)  -  Donald Trump said he fired John Bolton, writing in a tweet he “disagreed strongly with many of his suggestions” and adding he would announce a replacement for his hawkish national security adviser sometime next week. "I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House," the president wrote on Tuesday. "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 added. "I will be naming a new National Security Advisor next week." Mr Bolton then tweeted a statement of his own shortly after the president’s announcement, writing: “I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.'" Mr Bolton also reportedly told CNN’s Robert Costa shortly after his dismissal: “Let’s be clear, I resigned, having offered to do so last night."

The reason for Mr Bolton's departure was not immediately clear, although it has been suggested that he disagreed with the president's aborted plan to hold peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David this week, days before the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Mr Bolton was also an outspoken advocate of regime change in Iran. Although Mr Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal that his predecessor Barack Obama signed with Tehran, he is known to oppose military action in the Middle East.

The announcement arrived abruptly, shortly before Mr Bolton was set to appear for a scheduled press conference alongside Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Mr Trump announced he was nominating Mr Bolton to serve as his third national security adviser in March of last year after the removal of General HR McMaster. A well-known foreign policy hawk, Mr Bolton has served in several presidential administrations and has consistently been a proponent for regime change in countries like Syria and Iran. 

With Mr Bolton’s departure, the president’s national security team is reportedly currently missing a secretary and deputy secretary of homeland security, a director and deputy director of national intelligence, a national security adviser and secretaries for multiple military branches. Fox News reported that Mr Bolton had denied that the president asked for his resignation. The ex-national security adviser seemingly began texting television news hosts immediately after Mr Trump posted his tweets. On Fox News, Brian Kilmeade said "John Bolton just texted me, just now, he's watching. He said, 'let's be clear, I resigned.'"

 

Edited September 10, 2019 by Guest