According to recent reports in Buzzfeed, National Security Adviser, H.R.McMaster called President Trump an idiot and a dope with the intelligence of a kindergartner. McMaster also reportedly badmouthed Rex Tillerson (Secretary of State), James Mattis (Secretary of Defense), Steve Bannon (former White House strategist) and Jared Kushner (senior Presidential Adviser) in the same conversation. All of this was supposedly said to the CEO of Oracle, Safra Catz, at a dinner in July. Buzzfeed "confirmed" the statements with four others, but these four only spoke to Catz, not to McMaster.
The story is not true.
Normally, I would not be so categorical about such a report, but this one is clearly bogus that I feel quite confident in my view. Let me explain why:
1. McMaster knows he works for a President who does not tolerate disloyalty. Calling the President the names ascribed to McMaster would surely have lead Trump to fire McMaster. McMaster is not a fool and would not threaten his own position in that way.
2. There is universal praise for Jim Mattis at Defense. Even if McMaster doesn't like him, it is hard to imagine McMaster would call Mattis stupid also.
3. It is unbelievable to think that McMaster would attack all five of these men in a dinner with someone whose discretion is unknown. I don't think McMaster would even have said this to his wife even if he believed it. Telling the CEO of a tech company these things without also resigning his position is just not something in McMaster's makeup. Indeed, if you check Catz's political contributions in 2016, you find that presidential contributions went to Lindsey Graham and then to Marco Rubio. They were accompanied by a maximum contribution to the Friends of Chuck Schumer. McMaster most likely understood that Catz is not a fan of Trump.
4. The kind of attack supposedly made by McMaster is just the sort of thing that your average liberal would make up. It's a caricature claiming Trump is a dope. One may not like Trump or his positions, but his intelligence is not now and has never been the issue.
So let me say again, this story is not true.
The story is not true.
Normally, I would not be so categorical about such a report, but this one is clearly bogus that I feel quite confident in my view. Let me explain why:
1. McMaster knows he works for a President who does not tolerate disloyalty. Calling the President the names ascribed to McMaster would surely have lead Trump to fire McMaster. McMaster is not a fool and would not threaten his own position in that way.
2. There is universal praise for Jim Mattis at Defense. Even if McMaster doesn't like him, it is hard to imagine McMaster would call Mattis stupid also.
3. It is unbelievable to think that McMaster would attack all five of these men in a dinner with someone whose discretion is unknown. I don't think McMaster would even have said this to his wife even if he believed it. Telling the CEO of a tech company these things without also resigning his position is just not something in McMaster's makeup. Indeed, if you check Catz's political contributions in 2016, you find that presidential contributions went to Lindsey Graham and then to Marco Rubio. They were accompanied by a maximum contribution to the Friends of Chuck Schumer. McMaster most likely understood that Catz is not a fan of Trump.
4. The kind of attack supposedly made by McMaster is just the sort of thing that your average liberal would make up. It's a caricature claiming Trump is a dope. One may not like Trump or his positions, but his intelligence is not now and has never been the issue.
So let me say again, this story is not true.
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