White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien on Sunday claimed that President Trump and Mr. O’Brien’s predecessor John R. Bolton “did not always see eye to eye on how to conduct American diplomacy.”
Mr. Bolton suddenly split from the White House in September after multiple clashes over policy and tactics from Venezuelan and North Korean strongmen, to Iran’s nuclear defiance.
The former adviser, who joined the Trump administration in April 2018 and previously served as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under George W. Bush, earlier this week criticized the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea as a “failure” and claimed that leader Kim Jong-un would never voluntarily relinquish the country’s nuclear weapons.
“I think the inescapable conclusion is they’re happy to sell that same bridge over and over again, but there’s no serious chance they will ever voluntarily give it up,” Mr. Bolton said in an interview.
Despite Mr. Bolton’s surprise ouster from the administration, Mr. O’Brien said in a discussion on ABC News that both he and Mr. Trump have “a high degree of respect” for Mr. Bolton.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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