Just over a month ago, retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster received an unexpected call on his personal cell phone, as reported by four sources to CBS News. The call came from the White House, where he was instructed to await the president’s arrival on the line.
McMaster, who previously served as national security adviser during President Trump’s first term and was dismissed after a 13-month tenure, was taken aback by the outreach from Mr. Trump.
The day before, on March 2, Mr. Trump had launched his latest tirade against McMaster on social media, labeling him a “weak and totally ineffective loser.” McMaster had also recently appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” where he expressed doubts regarding Mr. Trump’s engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Putin’s commitment to resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
“Henry…” was how Trump initiated the call before diving into the discussion, according to two sources who were not authorized to share private exchanges.
At that moment, McMaster recognized the familiar voice as Mr. Trump. However, he also understood another crucial detail: the commander-in-chief had not meant to contact him at all.
McMaster’s name, H.R., stands for Herbert Raymond—not Henry.
“Mr. President, this is H.R. McMaster,” he replied on the phone.
“Why the f*** would I talk” to H.R. McMaster?” Trump retorted dismissively, before launching into a biting criticism of his former aide, as reported by two sources.
The conversation was brief.
Two sources informed CBS News that the president had actually intended to call South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, not his former national security adviser.
It remains uncertain who was responsible for making the incorrect call. One individual familiar with the incident noted that the call was placed by an aide who works closely with the president.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on the president’s private conversations or the occurrence of the call itself.
In a statement, White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the former national security adviser.
“H.R. McMaster has completely beclowned himself, and his third-rate book, now relegated to the bargain bin of the fiction section in discount bookstores, is filled with falsehoods in a desperate bid to restore his damaged reputation,” Cheung stated.
H.R. McMaster, who is a CBS News contributor, chose not to comment.
McMaster has been vocal about his critiques of Trump’s perspective on Putin and has stated that he believes the Russian leader “exploited Trump’s ego and insecurities through flattery,” as articulated in his recent memoir, “At War with Ourselves.”
The erroneous phone call on March 3 occurred just days before Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly included in a group chat with top national security advisers under Trump, which included discussions concerning sensitive data about U.S. military strikes in Yemen.
The current national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that he accepts “full responsibility” for the group chat incident.
