"You're fired":US national security adviser John Bolton.Credit:AP
Trump regularly goaded Bolton about his militaristic instincts,saying he had"never seen a war he doesn’t like"and jokingly asking him if he wanted to invade Ireland.
Trump resented the implication that Bolton was exerting influence on him behind the scenes and would lead him into a military conflict.
Bolton was a leading advocate of the Iraq War,which Trump said was a colossal foreign policy mistake.
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Many observers expressed surprisewhen Trump appointed Bolton to the role in April 2018,given their policy differences.
"It is a damn strange pick,"Larry Diamond,a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University said at the time.
Trump,who places great importance on his chemistry with advisers,never warmed to Bolton personally.
Bolton clashed with other members of Trump's administration during his tenure,and was said to no longer be on speaking terms with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump's initial decision not to appoint Bolton to a senior post was reportedly driven in part by his dislike of Bolton's distinctive white moustache.
Bolton was particularly sceptical that Trump's diplomatic embrace of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would lead the country to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Just weeks before his appointment,Bolton argued that the US has the legal authority to launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea and that it"should not wait until the very last minute"to act.