Retired Lt. General H.R. McMaster received a phone call from an unexpected source on March 1, 2025. McMaster answered a call on his cell phone to a voice instructing him to “stand by for the president.” McMaster had served a period of 13 months under Donald Trump as the national security advisor. He was ousted after disagreeing with President Donald Trump on more than one occasion. McMaster was shocked to hear from Trump but waited patiently on the line.
Trump Lobbed Insults On Social Media
On March 2, Trump insulted McMaster on social media, blasting the former national security advisor as a “weak and totally ineffective loser. “Trump’s comments came on the heels of McMaster appearing on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” where he shared his doubts over Donald Trump’s overtures to Vladimir Putin and the Russian president’s willingness to move toward ending the war in Ukraine.
“You know what President Trump was driven by is actually, I think, what President Obama was driven by and President George W. Bush was driven by when they were early in their administrations with Putin,” McMaster said. “Putin is a great liar. He’s a great deceiver. He offers each new president flattery and the prospect of global cooperation. So I would alert the president to this. He often didn’t want to hear it.”
Donald Trump Calls The Wrong Number
“Henry…” Trump said into the phone. McMaster recognized Trump’s voice immediately, he also quickly figured out that he was not the one Donald Trump was trying to reach. “Mr. President, this is H.R. McMaster,” he replied. McMaster’s name is Herbert Raymond, but he goes by H.R. for short. His name was in no way Henry.
Donald Trump Uses Profanity
“Why the f*** would I talk to H.R. McMaster?” Trump asked angrily. He then launched into a blistering critique of his former aide. The call was a brief one. According to CBS News Trump had intended to call Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina, not his former staff member.
It is not clear if Donald Trump dialed the wrong number or if a member of his staff was responsible for the mistake. Instead of discussing the phone call, Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, criticized Lt. General McMaster.
“H.R. McMaster has completely beclowned himself and his third-rate book, which is now sold in the bargain bin of the fiction section of a discount bookstore, is filled with lies in a futile attempt to rehabilitate his tattered reputation,” Cheung said.
McMaster On Trump And Putin
McMaster has repeatedly spoken out about Donald Trump’s views on Putin and how he believes the Russian leader “played to Trump’s ego and insecurities with flattery,” as he wrote in his recent memoir, “At War with Ourselves.”
The phone call to McMaster came just a few days before the Editor-In- Chief of The Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg was accidently added to a group chat with some of Donald Trump’s top national security advisors. The group openly discussed sensitive information related to a planned military strike in Yemen.
Reportedly, Waltz accidentally added Godberg’s cell phone number to his iPhone, believing he had saved another official’s number. Mike Waltz, Trump’s current national security advisor, has taken “full responsibility” for adding Goldberg to the confidential chat.
