Trump and Putin together
On Sunday, August 25, 2024, H.R. McMaster, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump, made a striking statement about the former president’s decision-making style. McMaster, who served under Trump from February 2017 to April 2018, revealed during an interview on CBS’ Face the Nation that Trump can be easily manipulated by flattery, making him vulnerable to foreign leaders who understand how to appeal to his ego.
McMaster described Trump as someone who has the capacity to make sound decisions, particularly in areas like foreign policy and national security. However, he suggested that Trump often struggles to stick to those decisions, especially when external influences come into play. According to McMaster, a significant challenge during Trump’s presidency was the number of people who knew how to manipulate him, especially foreign leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The retired Army lieutenant general explained how this susceptibility to flattery made Trump an easy target for manipulation. McMaster recalled incidents where Putin, a former KGB officer, used this tactic to his advantage, playing to Trump’s insecurities and ego. McMaster discussed this in an excerpt of his new book At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House, which was published in the Wall Street Journal.
In the book, McMaster described White House meetings as “exercises in competitive sycophancy,” where advisers and staff would often vie for Trump’s attention and approval through excessive flattery. This created an environment where Trump’s decisions could easily be swayed by those who knew how to appeal to his vanity.
McMaster’s comments have sparked a debate about Trump’s ability to make critical decisions under pressure. While Trump and his supporters claim that his direct and bold approach to foreign policy was one of his strengths, McMaster’s observations raise questions about how easily he could be influenced by praise. This susceptibility, according to McMaster, allowed foreign leaders like Putin to manipulate Trump during key diplomatic moments.
Trump’s relationship with Putin has long been a topic of controversy. Throughout his presidency, Trump was criticized for his unusually friendly stance toward Russia, often praising Putin while downplaying allegations of Russian interference in U.S. elections. In several instances, Trump publicly expressed admiration for Putin’s leadership style, which critics interpreted as further evidence of his vulnerability to flattery.
In his interview, McMaster highlighted the importance of having a competent team around Trump, particularly if he were to run for office again. He emphasized that while Trump has the potential to make good decisions, those decisions often depend on the advice he receives and the influence of those around him. McMaster noted that Trump could make bold moves, such as pulling the U.S. out of the nuclear treaty with Iran in 2018, which McMaster considered one of Trump’s more successful foreign policy actions. However, without a strong team to support him, McMaster suggested that Trump is prone to wavering and inconsistency.
McMaster also pointed out that Trump’s tendency to prioritize his political base over sound judgment made him more susceptible to manipulation. He explained that many people around Trump knew how to press his buttons, particularly by aligning their advice with what would keep Trump’s base happy. This created a dynamic where decisions were sometimes made not based on what was best for national security or foreign policy but rather on what would resonate with Trump’s supporters.
Despite the criticism, Trump and his allies maintain that he was a strong leader, particularly when it came to dealing with foreign adversaries. Trump has repeatedly argued that his direct approach, which often included public displays of admiration for autocrats like Putin, was a strategic move to assert his dominance on the global stage. His supporters believe that this approach made Trump a more effective negotiator than his Democratic rivals.
During his Face the Nation interview, McMaster also addressed concerns about the current administration’s foreign policy approach. He argued that the Biden administration, particularly Vice President Kamala Harris, has taken a much softer stance on foreign adversaries like Russia and Iran. According to McMaster, this softer approach gives countries like Iran and Russia more leeway to escalate tensions, knowing that the U.S. will be reluctant to confront them directly.
McMaster’s warnings about Iran were particularly strong. He described Iran as a growing threat, particularly in the context of its support for militant groups in the Middle East. McMaster argued that the U.S. must take a firmer stance against Iran’s actions, which he believes pose a direct threat to regional stability and U.S. allies like Israel.
In the days following McMaster’s interview, reactions have been mixed. Critics of Trump have seized on McMaster’s comments as further evidence of Trump’s unfitness for leadership, while Trump’s supporters argue that McMaster is simply promoting his book. Regardless, McMaster’s revelations offer a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Trump White House and the challenges that came with advising a president who could be so easily influenced by those who flattered him.
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