Trump and John Bolton have an 'I fired you/no I quit' Twitter fight
The Trump administration is down yet another member, and yet again the dramatic firing seems to have unfolded on Twitter.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted to announce that last night he informed John Bolton, his third National Security Advisor, 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........I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning," Trump explained over the course of two tweets.
....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
As is often the case with Trump's firings, however, it appears that might not have been the whole story.
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Shortly after Trump tweeted that he fired Bolton, Bolton logged on to defend himself, tweeting, "I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, 'Let's talk about it tomorrow.'" Ouch.
I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow."
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) September 10, 2019
According to a Fox News report, Bolton also confirmed via text to host Brian Kilmeade that he opted to leave. "Let's be clear, I resigned," he reportedly texted while watching the segment. If that's the case, it's very possible that Bolton found out about his firing via tweet.
John Bolton is texting Fox News hosts on live TV telling them he resigned.
Brian Kilmeade: "John Bolton just texted me, just now, he's watching. He said, 'let's be clear, I resigned.'" pic.twitter.com/YvrWO0kk7f— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) September 10, 2019
Bolton's departure from the White House comes after he and President Trump disagreed over how to handle relationships with Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan.
Whether it's Bolton or Trump that is telling the truth, of course, remains unclear. But seeing two grown, powerful men arguing about whether a firing or a quitting took place on Twitter in front of the entire world is really something.
"i have notified the president that i am resigning to spend more time with my nuclear bomb" pic.twitter.com/FfL7ARhQNj
— darth™ (@darth) September 10, 2019
"Sorry, I'm going to need some time to publicly embarrass you." https://t.co/SSKW9N9sje
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) September 10, 2019
Looking forward to seeing you on "Dancing with the Stars" https://t.co/IzADDLf2HP
— Emily Brandwin (@CIAspygirl) September 10, 2019
bolton wanted closure in person
trump broke up with him over text— dan from the internet (@danfromtheweb) September 10, 2019
This suggests Bolton learned about his firing by tweet. https://t.co/kKb8sfpg4E
— Bobby Ghosh (@ghoshworld) September 10, 2019
Now this is a Trump Admin first, I believe. A dumped official actually disputing the President's account of the dumping. Will Bolton become the first of the natsec advisers Trump has publicly humiliated to break with him and reveal what has been going on backstage? https://t.co/atjvYdJsoL
— Susan Glasser (@sbg1) September 10, 2019
Remember that time James Comey claimed he found out he was fired by seeing the announcement on the news? Great times.