McMaster says Putin lied directly to Trump and negotiating with Russia is dangerous.
“Vladimir Putin looked Trump in the eye and lied to him. We negotiate with Russia at our peril,”
McMaster faced coordinated attacks from Bannon allies and Russian bots after firing NSC staff.
“ after he fired several National Security Council staff members. [ 60 ] [ 61 ] [ 62 ] White House officials and journalists suspected Steve Bannon of leading these attacks. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] Attorney Mike Cernovich , radio host Alex Jones and Breitbart News were among the foremost promoters of the anti-McMaster campaign; Cernovich's website for the campaign also included a cartoon depicting McMaster, which the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) labeled antisemitic . [ 65 ] [ 66 ] In addition, the Center for Security Policy criticized McMaster for being insufficiently conservative and for not supporting Trump's agenda. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] [ 69 ] The Russian intelligence services used internet bots and trolls to campaign to get McMaster out. The anti-McMaster campaign prompted dismissive responses by administration officials, and a statement from Trump affirming his confidence in McMaster. [ 70 ] [ 71 ] In February 2018, McMaster said that it was ”