Trump to Right Wing: Leave McMaster Alone

U.S. President Donald Trump has praised National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster as a “good man” amid reports the Army general is facing a backlash in the White House. In a statement released late Friday, Trump said, “General McMaster and I are working very well together. He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country.” The statement comes after McMaster reportedly drew the ire of conservative staffers earlier this week with the firing of intelligence adviser Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a protege of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. A Jerusalem Post columnist accused McMaster of purging pro-Israel staffers from the National Security Council in the wake of Cohen-Watnick’s dismissal. But even Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, who had earlier reportedly fought for Cohen-Watnick to stay, came to McMaster’s defense, telling the New York Times he is a “true public servant and a tremendous asset.”