Mr Bolton made the pilgrimage to Trump Tower on December 2, 2016 to make his case. Mr Trump reportedly spent hours afterwards deriding Mr Bolton's famous walrus moustache.

It wasn't the face that the image-conscious President wanted representing his administration.

It would take until March 2018 for Mr Bolton to convince the former television star and master brander that he deserved a spot in his administration as national Security Adviser.

The moustache stayed, and so did the 70-year-old's aggressive views and preferences for regime change and war.

Those far-weightier matters, rather than facial fear, led to Mr Bolton becoming the latest to feel the Trumpian twitter axe.

Trump and Bolton clashed over Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan

It was always an odd fit — Mr Trump was elected on a promise to stop expending American wealth and blood in foreign conflicts.

Mr Bolton has always been among the most hawkish advisers in Washington DC, with his favoured solution to every problem involving a bomb.

Experienced, tough and savvy, he did his best to convince Mr Trump to change course on North Korea, Iran and more recently Afghanistan.

Back in June, the President said he called off a strike on Iran 10 minutes before it was due to be launched. Mr Bolton wanted the President to go through with the move.

The two also clashed over the President's historic steps across the demilitarised zone in North Korea.

Mr Bolton would prefer to take out the Kims than pursue the negotiations that Mr Trump believes may win him a Nobel Peace prize.

You can only imagine what Mr Bolton thought about the President's latest plan to host the Taliban at Camp David a few days before the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

If it was up to Bolton, the US 'would be in four wars by now'

The hawkish appointment of Mr Bolton was a marked change from the President's previous national security advisers, Generals Michael Flynn and HR McMaster.

Unlike the others, who were seen as calming influences on Mr Trump, this time it was the President reining in the man with the walrus moustache.

One White House adviser remembers the President joking that if it were up to Mr Bolton, America would be be in four wars now.

Those differences between the two men were sometimes embarrassingly public, feeding the perception the administration was without a clear strategy.

In Japan, Mr Bolton said missile tests by North Korea were in breach of United Nations sanctions.

"I view it differently," said the President, who went on to laud his love letters and regard for the young dictator, Kim Jong-un.

Similarly, on Iran, Mr Bolton had long advocated regime change, but the President pursued a different strategy: threatening Tehran while simultaneously offering to have talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.

There are no doubt strategists in Pyongyang, Kabul and Tehran who are happy to see the back of Mr Bolton.

Trump and Bolton offer differing narratives on 'resignation'

In the end, it appears the President was also happy to see Mr Bolton leave. The men were even unable to agree on the circumstances of his departure.

In the President's version, he told Mr Bolton his services weren't required last night before asking for his resignation this morning.

Mr Bolton says he offered to resign last night, but the President said they would discuss it today.

This morning, the White House even announced Mr Bolton was to appear at a press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

All we know is the firing comes after the President's aborted plans to host the Taliban at Camp David.

A cursory look at Mr Bolton's Twitter feed tells you he still views the group as a threat to the US homeland.

Mr Trump says he'll appoint another national security adviser — his fourth — next week.

The President's supporters say this high turnover is the work of an entrepreneur who will give people a shot but fire them quickly if it's not working out.

Most critics are not as kind, likening the White House to a reality TV show.

As Mr Bolton was an internationally facing senior official, embassies and foreign contacts in Washington DC will have yet more upheaval to contend with.

Observers will feel the risk of conflict from Caracas to Kabul has been lowered.

But they will also note that, in hindsight, the warmonger with the walrus moustache and the image-conscious President running on a platform of peace were as unlikely a duo as oil and water.