McMaster Called Trump A ‘Kindergartner.’ Was Ezra Cohen-Watnick The Source?
Image by Getty
By Ari Feldman November 21, 2017
According to a report in Buzzfeed Monday, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster mocked Donald Trump’s intelligence at a meeting with powerful CEOs. According to five sources, McMaster told a group that included Oracle CEO Safra Catz that Trump is an “idiot,” a “dope” and has the intelligence of a “kindergartner.”
Does this mean that Ezra Cohen-Watnick is back?
Back in March, Cohen-Watnick was revealed as one of the White House staffers who gave information about the Trump campaign’s connections to Russia to Representative Devin Nunes. Nunes then turned around and shared that information with the Trump.
At the time of the leak, Cohen-Watnick was working under McMaster as senior director of intelligence for the National Security Council. McMaster was finally able to fire Cohen-Watnick in August, after General John Kelly purged the White House staff of Steve Bannon — a big supporter of Cohen-Watnick.
And where did Cohen-Watnick go after leaving public service? To the powerful lobbying arm of Oracle.
Coincidence? Only time will tell.
Contact Ari Feldman at feldman@forward.com or on Twitter @aefeldman.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
