President Trump reached out to retired Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster for advice as his frustration with national security adviser John Bolton grew.
Roughly a year-and-a-half after Trump revealed he was replacing McMaster with Bolton as his national security adviser, the president announced Bolton’s ouster.
“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 Tuesday.
A report from NBC News that followed said Trump began consulting McMaster since the fall of 2018, and the two have talked over the phone as recently as a few months ago. Among the topics they discussed included Iran and picks for the defense secretary job.
Trump had become increasingly agitated with Bolton, particularly because public perception that the foreign policy hawk was driving the narrative for countries such as Iran and Venezuela. Sources said tensions got so high that Trump put Bolton on a list of officials whom he wanted gone by the end of the year, and a White House official told Bolton in late May or early June that he should keep his distance from the president.
A spokesman for Bolton denied such a conversation took place and rejected the suggestion that there was any bad blood with the president.
McMaster, who was Trump’s second national security adviser after Michael Flynn, also drew the president’s ire during his tenure. Trump reportedly did unflattering impressions of McMaster when he wasn’t in the room and once snapped at him for taking notes during meetings at the White House.
Some people were surprised to learn that Trump was again on speaking terms with McMaster. “He must be getting pretty far down on his call list because McMaster is not at the top,” one former White House official said.
