Former national security adviser H. R. McMaster said Monday that he would not serve in a hypothetical second Trump administration, noting his talents are “kind of used up” with former President Trump.
“No, I think, Anderson, I will work in any administration where I feel like I can make a difference, but I'm kind of used up with Donald Trump,” McMaster told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Monday evening in an interview, when asked whether he will serve again if the former president is elected in November.
McMaster, who served in the White House from February 2017 to April 2018, said it was a “privilege” to serve in the Trump administration, but he painted a complex picture of his time with the former president and noted some of the difficulties he faced.
“The president is quite often very offensive, brash, says things that are outlandish,” McMaster said.
“But, you know, he's an extremely disruptive person," he added. "I saw it as my job, you know, not to try to constrain him, but to help him disrupt what needed to be disrupted."
His comments come as many Republicans have pressed the GOP nominee to cool down his rhetoric and focus less on personal attacks against his Democratic rival, Vice President Harris, and more on policy.
McMaster joined the interview to discuss his new book, “At War with Ourselves,” which he said he hopes inspires people to work in government.
“One of the themes in 'At War with Ourselves' is, 'heck, yeah, we are at war with ourselves.' That's not only bad for our psyche, it's bad for governance," the former official said. "It's bad for our country. And I hope that young people, if they read this book, will feel a call to serve."
He noted the tone of the book doesn’t stress the difficulties of the job as much as the honor to serve, saying, “It was a privilege to serve in that job.”
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ also updated its election forecast Monday, shifting the races for the White house and Congress in the direction of Harris and Democrats. Still, all three races will be close.
McMaster similarly suggested in the interview that he would not serve in an administration run by the vice president, noting their different policy outlooks.
“I don't know if I would be effective there either,” he said about a hypothetical Harris administration. “Based on, probably, my different points of view, and what is a sensible policy toward the Middle East, or really fill in the blank, but anywhere I can make a difference."
He added, "It's such a privilege to serve.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
