HR McMaster, Donald Trump’s second national security adviser, succeeded another US army general, Mike Flynn, in February 2017. In October, McMaster wrote a resignation letter but kept it in his desk.
Five months later, “completely fed-up”, he turned to John Kelly, a marine corps general and Trump’s second chief of staff. “Give me a fucking date,” said McMaster. Hours later, Trump called and put him out of his misery. McMaster had lasted 457 days – in his own words, in reference to a notoriously short-serving communications director, “41.3 Scaramuccis”.
