Intelligence officials have had a difficult time briefing President Trump on matters throughout his presidency, The New York Times reports. He reportedly often loses interest, unless the subject is heavy on economics or could intrigue other wealthy people, which tended to concern the intelligence community.
In the latter scenario, one former senior administration official told The New York Times, Trump would "show off about some of the stuff he thought was cool," like the capabilities of different weapons system to billionaires. "These were super rich guys who wouldn't give him the time of day before he became president," the former official said. "He'd use that stuff as currency he had that they didn't, not understanding the implications."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 peaceful homes near small townsFeature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
What would happen to Earth if humans went extinct?The Explainer Human extinction would potentially give rise to new species and climates
-
The best TV shows based on moviesThe Week Recommends A handful of shows avoid derivative storytelling and craft bold narrative expansions
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing lineSpeed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein filesspeed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checksSpeed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for ArizonaSpeed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firingsSpeed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayorSpeed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shootingSpeed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
