Allies of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon intensified their battle against national security adviser H.R. McMaster this week as McMaster began asserting more control over the National Security Council and fired officials appointed by his immediate predecessor, Michael Flynn.
The dismissals of Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Rich Higgins, and Derek Harvey have exacerbated friction between McMaster and the White House’s more nationalist wing, which is led by Bannon and has President Donald Trump’s ear.
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John Kelly’s recent move from homeland security secretary to White House chief of staff should ensure McMaster’s independence and control over the NSC — for now.
But the nationalists may have a competitive advantage: Trump, who already thinks McMaster is a “pain” who talks too much and has complained to aides that he wants Flynn back at the White House, is reportedly considering sending McMaster to replace Gen. John Nicholson as the top commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
“What the nationalists are saying about McMaster: ‘He wants to send more troops to Afghanistan, so we’re going to send him,'” Axios’ Mike Allen reported Thursday.
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Since the firings, administration officials speaking anonymously to conservative-leaning news outlets have accused McMaster of being “anti-Israel” and opposing “everything the president wants to do.”
One former NSC official told The Daily Caller that McMaster was a “sycophant” of retired Gen. David Petraeus. The official seemed to try to appeal directly to the president’s ego, adding that he didn’t understand why Trump was “allowing a guy who is subverting his foreign policy at every turn to remain in place.”
On Thursday, a letter McMaster wrote to Susan Rice, a national security adviser during the Obama administration, allowing her to keep her security clearance was leaked to Circa — an outlet seen as friendly to Trump. Circa paired the letter, which immediately stirred outrage in far-right circles, with quotes from anonymous West Wing officials claiming it undermined the president’s judgment.
“What is this? Does H.R. McMaster need to go? Susan Rice? Omg,” Sean Hannity, a Trump ally and Fox News host who dined with the president last week, tweeted on Thursday.
“H.R. McMaster is a Deep State Plant who Opposes the Trump Agenda,” tweeted Mike Cernovich, a prominent far-right provocateur who describes himself as an “American nationalist.”
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Twitter accounts that have been linked to Russian influence operations have jumped on the anti-McMaster bandwagon, too, using hashtags like #FireMcMaster and #deepstate, according to a newly launched website that aims to track Russian propaganda efforts in real time.
On Friday, the top and trending websites the accounts were sharing were the Circa story about McMaster letting Rice keep her security clearance. Shares of a Breitbart story titled “NSC Purge: McMaster ‘Deeply Hostile to Israel and to Trump'” have increased by 2,300% since Wednesday, according to the site, and “clearance,” “McMaster,” and “Susan Rice” were among the top and trending topics.
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Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operations have jumped on the anti-McMaster bandwagon, too. https://t.co/Mie8GLNqcl pic.twitter.com/hf6UgsMaEG
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) August 4, 2017
The @nytimes reports on evidence that Russia is trying to get the U.S. National Security Advisor fired.https://t.co/dMgS36qUkE pic.twitter.com/ChJxm3Hj5e
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 5, 2017
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