![]() ![]() A National Security Council (NSC) staffer who worked with McMaster and is not authorized to speak publicly about internal matters told me that no policy decision Trump took was ever final until it was actually implemented. McMaster also advocated for a more militaristic stance toward North Korea, consistently warning that time was running out before a potential war with Pyongyang.īut McMaster perhaps struggled most simply dealing with Trump. Trump also publicly lambasted McMaster for saying the evidence that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election was “incontrovertible” - a fact the president repeatedly denies. Trump, for example, pushed back hard against McMaster on crucial national security decisions, particularly the decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Instead, McMaster soon found himself at odds with both the president and other top administration officials. McMaster - along with Defense Secretary James Mattis and, at the time, Tillerson - was labeled an “adult” in the room whose military and strategic expertise would help him gain Trump’s trust and moderate the president’s most potentially dangerous foreign policy impulses. Hours after Tillerson’s removal, McMaster told a reporter, “Hey, I’m still around.” McMaster follows closely behind Rex Tillerson, whom Trump fired on March 13. On March 15, the Washington Post reported that Trump had decided to oust McMaster but didn’t do so because he wanted to ensure there was a prominent successor in place and that McMaster has his next job lined up. “General McMaster’s leadership of the National Security Council staff has helped my administration accomplish great things to bolster America’s national security.” McMaster has served his country with distinction for more than 30 years,” Trump said in a statement. Bolton will assume McMaster’s role on April 9. In a tweet, Trump announced that McMaster would make way for former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, but that McMaster “will always remain my friend.” McMaster will retire from the military, according to the New York Times. But President Donald Trump let him go on Thursday after just over a year in the administration - leaving McMaster’s once-sterling reputation in tatters and the White House in even more disarray. McMaster began his tenure as national security adviser as one of the most celebrated military leaders of his generation. ![]()
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