Related Link The Knives Are Out for Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster

National security adviser H.R. McMaster clashes with President Trump in front of White House staff and the relationship between the two appears to be strained, according to a Bloomberg report.

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported Trump has not warmed to McMaster in the same way that the Washington establishment did. The sources said White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is skeptical of McMaster's policies and thinks he's trying to trick Trump into falling into the same previous pattern of nation building Trump warned against during the campaign.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus is blocking a key appointment from McMaster, according to the report.

Trump himself is disillusioned with McMaster because the general occasionally lectures Trump and doesn't allow him to ask questions frequently.

Trump issued a statement to Bloomberg on Sunday disputing the report, quoting Trump as saying, "I couldn't be happier with H.R. He's doing a terrific job."

However, multiple sources to the outlet said Trump was livid after reading McMaster called South Korean officials to say Trump's statement that the American ally would have to pay for a missile defense system wasn't official policy. The sources reported Trump screamed at McMaster on the phone for undermining him. ...