The Atlantic

Trump’s Ex–National Security Adviser on His Failure to Condemn White Supremacy

It “gives space to these groups that foment hatred and intolerance,” H. R. McMaster says.
Source: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty

As the election nears, a parade of ex-administration officials and political advisers has come forward to denounce President Donald Trump and offer firsthand accounts of incompetence and venality running through his government.

One notable exception has been H. R. McMaster. The retired Army general served as Trump’s second national security adviser, leaving in early 2018 after about a year in the job. McMaster was part of a coterie of high-level advisers who met often with Trump, explaining global threats and laying out options for him to consider. He presumably knows plenty about the character of the 45th president and whether he’s fit to lead the free world. On that score, McMaster has typically kept mum. Writing in about McMaster’s recent book, , Ben Rhodes, a former deputy

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