Donald Trump 'likes his intelligence briefings filled with pictures', says new report
The President is not known for being a heavy reader
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump reportedly likes his intelligence briefings concise and filled with pictures.
According to a report in the US media, Mr Trump is eager to consume nuggets of classified information but often seems “indifferent to subtleties”. Along with demanding brevity, the President has also encouraged his briefers to provide as many visual elements as possible.
“That’s our task, right? To deliver the material in a way that he can best understand the information we’re trying to communicate,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo told the Washington Post.
Mr Trump’s request for numerous graphics may be a reflection of his longtime career as a real estate developer, where he evaluated building designs to visualise what the property would ultimately look like.
Before being inaugurated as president, Mr Trump told Fox News in December: “You know, I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years.”
While appearing on “The Daily Show”, Mr Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama responded that “it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If you’re not getting their perspective, their detailed perspective, then you are flying blind.”
Mr Trump is not known for being a voracious reader, but he manages to fill his days with plenty of political TV shows, according to Axios. He receives classified updates on the world’s hot spots most mornings at about 10.30am, during which he often interrupts his briefers with questions as well as with random asides, the Post said.
“I get great intel. I have people brief me on great intel everyday,” Mr Trump reportedly told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during a White House meeting earlier in May.
That meeting ended up getting Mr Trump into hot water after it was reported that the President revealed Israel’s highly sensitive information about an Isis terrorist plot to the Russian officials.
HR McMaster, Mr Trump’s National Security Advisor, said that the information the President discussed with Mr Lavrov and Mr Kislyak was “wholly appropriate”, while Mr Trump tweeted that he had the “absolute right” to share facts pertaining to terrorism.
Both congressional Democrats and Republicans expressed alarm over Mr Trump’s disclosure of the highly sensitive information.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments