Bolton says he offered to resign night before Trump announced his firing

Outgoing national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday disputed President Trump’s account of his dismissal, tweeting that he offered to resign before the president announced his ouster.

“I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow,'” Bolton tweeted.

I offered to resign last night and President Trump said, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) September 10, 2019

{mosads}The Washington Post reporter Robert Costa and other journalists said that Bolton had texted them to make clear that he resigned.

The messages came moments after Trump rocked Washington with a pair of tweets that said he had asked Bolton to step down due to disagreements about policy.

“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 I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning,” Trump tweeted.

The president said he would name a replacement next week.

Bolton’s exit came as his influence with the president waned and amid clashes with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, with whom Trump has a strong relationship.

Bolton came into the administration a fierce opponent of Iranian influence and a past supporter of regime change. While the Trump administration has hammered Iran with sanctions, the president has in recent months expressed an openness to meeting with Iranian leaders, a clear contrast to his national security adviser.

The president publicly rebuked Bolton during a trip to Japan earlier this year when he said he was not bothered by North Korea testing missile projectiles shortly after the adviser cited it as a violation of a United Nations resolution.

Bolton was a leading voice in the effort to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. But months after the U.S. backed an opposition leader, Maduro remains in power and Trump has reportedly grown frustrated with the stagnant situation.