Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: Trump confused H.R. McMaster with South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and talked to him on the phone for over 20 fucking minutes before realizing he was talking to the wrong guy
1. Summary of the results
The core claim about Trump's accidental call is confirmed by multiple sources, but with important corrections to the original statement. The call occurred on March 3rd [1] and was indeed placed to H.R. McMaster instead of intended recipient Governor Henry McMaster. However, contrary to the original statement's claim of a 20-minute conversation, the call was described as "brief" [2]. Trump began the call by saying "Henry..." and upon H.R. McMaster identifying himself, Trump responded dismissively with "Why the f*** would I talk to H.R. McMaster?" [3].
2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints
Several important contextual elements were omitted from the original statement:
- The incident occurred shortly after Trump had publicly criticized H.R. McMaster on social media, calling him a "weak and totally ineffective loser" [4]
- There is uncertainty about who actually dialed the wrong number, with sources suggesting an aide might have made the mistake [1]
- H.R. McMaster has been a vocal critic of Trump since being fired in 2018 [4]
- The White House, through spokesperson Steven Cheung, responded to the incident by attacking McMaster's credibility and calling his book "third-rate" [5]
3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement
The original statement contains several elements of misinformation or exaggeration:
- The claim of a "20-minute" conversation is not supported by any sources, with multiple sources describing the call as "brief" [2]
- The statement's dramatic presentation omits the broader context of the ongoing conflict between Trump and McMaster [4]
- The statement implies Trump was solely responsible for the mistake, while sources suggest an aide might have been responsible for dialing the wrong number [1]
This incident appears to have been weaponized by both sides: Trump's critics use it to question his competence, while Trump's team uses it to further discredit McMaster's credibility.