There appears to be some disagreement over whether National Security Adviser John Bolton was fired by Trump or if he resigned (it looks like he actually resigned) but, in any case, Bolton is officially out of the Trump regime.
From the Associated Press:
Trump tweeted that he told Bolton Monday night his services were no longer needed at the White House and said Bolton submitted his resignation on Tuesday morning. Trump said that he “disagreed strongly” with many of Bolton’s suggestions, “as did others in the administration.”
Bolton responded in a tweet of his own that he offered to resign Monday “and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.’”
Bolton’s ouster came as a surprise to many in the White House. Just an hour before Trump’s tweet, the press office announced that Bolton would join Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a briefing.
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, and therefore....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
....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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2019
BOLTON IS TEXTING FOX HOSTS WHO ARE ON AIR TO DISPUTE TRUMP'S ACCOUNT OF HIS FIRING
Kilmeade: "John Bolton just texted me, just now, he's watching. He said, 'let's be clear, I resigned.'" pic.twitter.com/2zg8tPTf6L
— Lis Power (@LisPower1) September 10, 2019
I honestly don't know if it's good news that John Bolton is out of the Trump White House and it's darkly comedic to say that.
As the saying goes, sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. There's little doubt in my mind that Trump's next national security adviser will be worse than Bolton in one way or another. Just the fact that Trump will likely replace Bolton with a puppet who will never disagree with him is cause for concern and, if that's the case, Trump himself might be Trump's replacement for Bolton.
Recent weeks of American foreign policy have been extraordinarily turbulent and included Trump likely scuttling peace talks in Afghanistan for years to come just because he didn't get a photo op with the Taliban at Camp David.
I think it gets worse from here without Bolton, not better, because the driving force has always been and will continue to be Trump.