A second top Trump administration official has privately derided President Donald Trump‘s intellect, according to a new report.
According to five unnamed sources who spoke to BuzzFeed News, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster ridiculed Trump in front of guests at a private dinner in July attended by Oracle CEO Safra Catz. McMaster reportedly called Trump, his boss, an “idiot” and a “dope” with the mental acumen of a “kindergartner.”
BuzzFeed’s sources said Catz, who is rumored to be in line for a job in the Trump administration, recounted McMaster’s alleged comments directly to them. However, both an Oracle executive who attended the meeting and the Trump administration deny McMaster made the comments about Trump.
“Actual participants in the dinner deny that General McMaster made any of the comments attributed to him by anonymous sources. Those false comments represent the diametric opposite of General McMaster’s actual views,” Michael Anton, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told BuzzFeed.
Ken Glueck, Oracle’s senior vice president for governmental affairs, says he attended the dinner in question and refutes claims that McMaster mocked Trump, telling BuzzFeed the claims were “ridiculous.”
The report about McMaster echoes remarks allegedly made by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reportedly called Trump a “moron.” Tillerson responded by holding an emergency press conference in which he espoused his admiration for the president.
Read BuzzFeed’s full report here.