Former President Donald Trump says he’s refused intel briefings customarily offered to presidential nominees, remarking that opting out of them could prevent potential meddling by the Deep State.
Asked by a Daily Mail reporter whether he’s receiving intelligence briefings “traditionally” offered to nominees, Trump responded he’s refusing them.
Trump says he’s rejecting intelligence briefings to avoid deep state sabotage
Very based and a signal that he’s learned a lot since his first term pic.twitter.com/5Un3rmsgIY
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) August 22, 2024
“Well, I could have if I wanted them,” Trump told a Daily Mail reporter in Asheboro, North Carolina, Thursday.
“I don’t want them, because, number one, I know what’s happening. It’s very easy to see what’s happening,” he said, proceeding to criticize the Biden-Harris administration.
“I don’t want that, because as soon as I get that, they’ll say that I leaked it,” he continued. “So the best way to handle that situation is, I don’t need that briefing.”
“They come in, they give you a briefing, and then two days later they leak it, and then they say you leaked it.”
“So the only way to solve that problem is not to take it. I don’t want it,” he said.
Trump’s refusal of intel briefings comes as he’s currently being prosecuted by Special Counsel Jack Smith on federal charges he mishandled classified documents.
The move shows Trump has picked up on a few Deep State tactics during his first term and is determined to keep his new administration free from their influence.