Since Bolton’s appointment as national security adviser in April 2018, following the departures of both Michael Flynn and H.R. McMaster, there have been several reports about the US president clashing with Bolton over the latter’s aggressive, regime-changing stance on countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Afghanistan.
Trump informed White House reporters on Monday that a planned meeting with the Taliban at Camp David was canceled by himself alone, but a Saturday Bloomberg report claimed Bolton reminded Trump of the “potential pitfalls” associated with trying to secure a peace deal in Afghanistan. Sources also said that the former adviser called the potential deal irrelevant while blasting US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad’s recent tweet about the agreement.
Though Trump claims he requested the Bolton’s resignation, the war hawk was quick to go on the defensive on social media, claiming that he spoke to Trump the night prior about leaving and was instructed to wait until Tuesday to discuss the matter. Bolton’s resignation letter has since appeared online, dated September 10.