Trump says US should spend ‘less time worrying about Putin,’ calls his former advisor an ‘ineffective loser’

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized his former national security advisor on Sunday and said the U.S. government should spend less time worrying about Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

Trump made the comments Sunday night in a pair of posts on his social media platform Truth Social after Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, who served as Trump’s national security adviser during his first administration, criticized the president for “coddling Putin” while putting increased pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“H.R. MCMASTER IS A WEAK AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE LOSER!” Trump wrote.

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“We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country – So that we don’t end up like Europe!” he said in a follow-up post.

McMaster had criticized Trump and Vice President JD Vance after their meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. During the negotiations, Trump and Vance heavily criticized the Ukrainian president in a tense exchange between the two countries’ leaders before the U.S. president cut the meeting short and sent Zelenskyy on his way.

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“It is impossible to understand why President Trump and Vice President Vance seem determined to put more pressure on President Zelensky while they seem to be coddling Putin – the person who inflicted this terrible war in Ukraine,” McMaster said Friday on X.

The blowup in the Oval Office was sparked by Zelenskyy’s request for security guarantees as the war continues after Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.

Russian leaders and Russian state media appeared joyous after the testy exchange.

But several leaders from Europe and elsewhere came to Zelenskyy’s defense after the exchange, and the Ukrainian president thanked each of them for their support on social media.