Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

kpete

(72,056 posts)
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:30 PM Nov 2017

HR McMaster said President Trump has the intelligence of a kindergartner, at a private dinner.

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster mocked President Trump’s intelligence at a private dinner with a powerful tech CEO, according to five sources with knowledge of the conversation.

Over a July dinner with Oracle CEO Safra Catz — who has been mentioned as a candidate for several potential administration jobs — McMaster bluntly trashed his boss, said the sources, four of whom told BuzzFeed News they heard about the exchange directly from Catz. The top national security official dismissed the president variously as an “idiot” and a “dope” with the intelligence of a “kindergartner,” the sources said.

A sixth source who was not familiar with the details of the dinner told BuzzFeed News that McMaster had made similarly derogatory comments about Trump’s intelligence to him in private, including that the president lacked the necessary brainpower to understand the matters before the National Security Council.

............
News of the July dinner first surfaced in August, when Axios reported that Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson decided to support a campaign alleging that McMaster was anti-Israel after speaking with Catz about her meeting with the national security advisor. That decision stemmed, multiple sources tell BuzzFeed News, from comments McMaster made to Catz praising President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and describing Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory as a major problem.

But these new details reveal that the subject matter of McMaster’s dinner with Catz, which sources tell BuzzFeed News took place on July 18 at the Washington, D.C., restaurant Tosca, ranged far from geopolitics. Indeed, three of the sources said that McMaster disparaged multiple members of the administration to Catz, including Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, and President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Of Kushner, one source told BuzzFeed News, McMaster said he had no business being in the White House and should not be involved in national security issues.

“(Catz) said the conversation was so inappropriate that it was jaw dropping,” another source told BuzzFeed News.


MORE:


https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/sources-mcmaster-mocked-trumps-intelligence-in-a-private?utm_term=.pjnWj01Lg7&bftwnews#.euBxwgR1Dq
41 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
HR McMaster said President Trump has the intelligence of a kindergartner, at a private dinner. (Original Post) kpete Nov 2017 OP
Trump just gained voters. Eliot Rosewater Nov 2017 #1
Yur rite! Bunch of goddamn COLGATE4 Nov 2017 #32
Read his tweets and listen to him speak! yallerdawg Nov 2017 #2
Yep, it's not exactly a secret KelleyKramer Nov 2017 #25
It's crazymaking! maddiemom Nov 2017 #31
Personally I would have said toddler Freethinker65 Nov 2017 #3
That might still be giving him to much credit though. cstanleytech Nov 2017 #28
Go on the damn record exboyfil Nov 2017 #4
Violation of Article 88 UCMJ atreides1 Nov 2017 #5
How so? Trump's generals are all retired and out of uniform, are they not? Don't you regain... Hekate Nov 2017 #14
He's still active duty Army IronLionZion Nov 2017 #20
Tsk tsk Hekate Nov 2017 #21
even if it's true? :) TeamPooka Nov 2017 #18
Surely, that's not the result we want when someone exposes Trump for what he is! FiveGoodMen Nov 2017 #38
Patently untrue. Buns_of_Fire Nov 2017 #6
We can all see for ourselves how stupid and immature tRump is pandr32 Nov 2017 #7
There you have it Achilleaze Nov 2017 #8
Why is this being leaked to the press? Generic Brad Nov 2017 #9
Actually, he was being generous. smirkymonkey Nov 2017 #10
Because he was smart enough to be born rich so people take that as something. TeamPooka Nov 2017 #17
I'm guessing Proud Liberal Dem Nov 2017 #11
That's good rockfordfile Nov 2017 #12
This will be fun to watch-trump is going to be pissed Gothmog Nov 2017 #13
Uh-oh. Someone's having an orange tantrum today. nt Hekate Nov 2017 #15
Well, Trump does seem to drink water out of a bottle like it's a sippy cup so I'll say I believe it. TeamPooka Nov 2017 #16
Trump is little more than an old fashioned organized crime boss rurallib Nov 2017 #19
You nailed it nt steve2470 Nov 2017 #22
So several sources say Catz said it, but Catz denies it. pnwmom Nov 2017 #23
Trust McMaster to insult kindergartners. n/t NNadir Nov 2017 #24
I teach kindergartners. LastLiberal in PalmSprings Nov 2017 #33
I'm quite sure you're right. It is therefore an insult to kindergartners to be compared to Trump. NNadir Nov 2017 #35
I find this very hard to believe. 50 Shades Of Blue Nov 2017 #26
.... JHan Nov 2017 #27
Trump is exactly... Snackshack Nov 2017 #29
Lawrence ODonnell bdamomma Nov 2017 #30
Wonder how soon McMaster gets fired? dhol82 Nov 2017 #34
I disagree Proud Liberal Dem Nov 2017 #36
I have a question that is probably dumb... if TRUMP really is a moron- and I believe he is- Still In Wisconsin Nov 2017 #37
This is completely unfair. Orsino Nov 2017 #39
Freepers hate McMaster. This may be a hit job on him. Kaleva Nov 2017 #40
Why did he accept the job? Sunlei Nov 2017 #41

KelleyKramer

(9,014 posts)
25. Yep, it's not exactly a secret
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 09:31 PM
Nov 2017

And if there is any doubt, just watch any of his sit down interviews, it's nothing but word salad babbling

exboyfil

(17,865 posts)
4. Go on the damn record
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:37 PM
Nov 2017

Take a political risk. It is extraordinary for an active duty officer at this level to make such a statement. McMaster is well regarded. Trump thought nothing of politicizing and aircraft carrier commissioning.

atreides1

(16,118 posts)
5. Violation of Article 88 UCMJ
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:39 PM
Nov 2017

If this is true, then General McMaster is in violation of Article 88 of the UCMJ:

"Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

Maximum Punishment
Dismissal, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 1 year.

Hekate

(91,045 posts)
14. How so? Trump's generals are all retired and out of uniform, are they not? Don't you regain...
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 03:57 PM
Nov 2017

...your right of free speech when you leave active military duty?

IronLionZion

(45,667 posts)
20. He's still active duty Army
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:41 PM
Nov 2017

he didn't retire. This is not the normal custom but there's no law against active duty military serving as national security advisor.

Buns_of_Fire

(17,218 posts)
6. Patently untrue.
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:47 PM
Nov 2017

Rump would need at least two years of intensive tutoring to be accepted at a reputable kindergarten.

And damn the timing. Rump's next choice for a cabinet position just died.

pandr32

(11,644 posts)
7. We can all see for ourselves how stupid and immature tRump is
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 01:48 PM
Nov 2017

It seems to be a condition handed down to his children as well--a great example of how important it is to be a good role model for our children.
The fact that he is in our top office right now is a gut punch to our values and democracy. The whole world has noticed the absurdity.

Generic Brad

(14,276 posts)
9. Why is this being leaked to the press?
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 02:19 PM
Nov 2017

I can hardly imagine McMaster or anyone in the meeting would leak this. This seems like the handiwork of Bannon to screw with a faction he hates.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
10. Actually, he was being generous.
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 02:35 PM
Nov 2017

In the private world, Trump never had his intelligence called into question because just bullied and blustered his way through every transaction. Being president is a completely different ball game and Trump is being revealed for the imbecile that he is.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,461 posts)
11. I'm guessing
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 02:52 PM
Nov 2017

that McMaster will be hauled before the cameras any second now to deny/withdraw his statement, kiss Trump's ring, and complain about "fake news".

TeamPooka

(24,304 posts)
16. Well, Trump does seem to drink water out of a bottle like it's a sippy cup so I'll say I believe it.
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:02 PM
Nov 2017

rurallib

(62,483 posts)
19. Trump is little more than an old fashioned organized crime boss
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 04:13 PM
Nov 2017

with a big mouth and a little brain.

No threat is too big for him to make. And he must follow through to be able to intimidate others.
So I truly fear he will launch "the bomb."

One of these sycophants needs to speak up now before he gets the world in a nuclear war.
But fucking over the country and making the big score is too important to them all.

pnwmom

(109,025 posts)
23. So several sources say Catz said it, but Catz denies it.
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 08:02 PM
Nov 2017

As much as I think DT is an idiot and a dope with the IQ of a two year old, I'm skeptical that McMaster would go around saying stuff like this.

But people who wanted to discredit McMaster with DT might want to spread the story.

33. I teach kindergartners.
Tue Nov 21, 2017, 03:03 AM
Nov 2017

Kindys are a lot more honest, caring and compassionate than tRump is or ever will be.

Also, they have larger vocabularies.

NNadir

(33,587 posts)
35. I'm quite sure you're right. It is therefore an insult to kindergartners to be compared to Trump.
Tue Nov 21, 2017, 01:22 PM
Nov 2017

I'm sure most kindergartners are fine people.

Snackshack

(2,541 posts)
29. Trump is exactly...
Mon Nov 20, 2017, 11:33 PM
Nov 2017

...as expected/advertised and what a country gets when a reality TV host is elected President. Clearly Hamilton and the rest of the founding fathers failed to fully flesh out the potential devastation of an “electoral college”.


http://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-reason-for-the-electoral-college/

“The reason that the Constitution calls for this extra layer, rather than just providing for the direct election of the president, is that most of the nation’s founders were actually rather afraid of democracy. James Madison worried about what he called “factions,” which he defined as groups of citizens who have a common interest in some proposal that would either violate the rights of other citizens or would harm the nation as a whole. Madison’s fear – which Alexis de Tocqueville later dubbed “the tyranny of the majority” – was that a faction could grow to encompass more than 50 percent of the population, at which point it could “sacrifice to its ruling passion or interest both the public good and the rights of other citizens.” Madison has a solution for tyranny of the majority: “A republic, by which I mean a government in which the scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect, and promises the cure for which we are seeking.”

As Alexander Hamilton writes in “The Federalist Papers,” the Constitution is designed to ensure ”that the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” The point of the Electoral College is to preserve “the sense of the people,” while at the same time ensuring that a president is chosen “by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.”

dhol82

(9,353 posts)
34. Wonder how soon McMaster gets fired?
Tue Nov 21, 2017, 12:02 PM
Nov 2017

Trump can not let this stand.
Twitter tantrum will start shortly.

 

Still In Wisconsin

(4,450 posts)
37. I have a question that is probably dumb... if TRUMP really is a moron- and I believe he is-
Tue Nov 21, 2017, 01:33 PM
Nov 2017

then how is it that he's not lost ALL his money? I know he's been bankrupt and is probably in debt to the Russian mob up to his eyes, but still ??!?

Orsino

(37,428 posts)
39. This is completely unfair.
Tue Nov 21, 2017, 02:16 PM
Nov 2017

He also has the patience, empathy, sophistication and entitlement of a kindergartener.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»HR McMaster said Presiden...