Trump skips daily intelligence briefings because he’s ‘a smart person’

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Donald Trump claims that it’s okay that he’s been skipping his daily intelligence briefings because “he’s a smart person.”

He says he gets briefings “when I need it” because “I don’t have to be told — 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. Could be eight years — but eight years. I don’t need that.”

Trump’s comments to Fox News Sunday came two days after the Washington Post reported that the CIA told U.S. senators last week that it’s “quite clear” from a “growing body of intelligence from multiple sources” that Russia used cyberattacks to interfere in the presidential election. They specifically said Russia did it to help Trump beat out Hillary for President.

Since the CIA’s statements Trump has slammed them, stating that these are “the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.”

— Former Clinton staffer launches anti-Donald Trump website: ‘Corrupt.af’ — 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysx7s9ocJU

At about the same time that Fox News aired the interview, a bipartisan group of senators released a statement saying Americans should be alarmed by the CIA’s findings.

Trump refuses to believe that Russia had anything to do with the hacks during the election and has praised Putin and signaled a want to forge closer ties with Russia.

He says that the CIA’s fact finding about Russian interference was “just another excuse” Democrats are using to explain Clinton’s loss.

The President has ignored intelligence briefings in the past with terrible consequences. In August 2001, President George W. Bush received a memo titled, “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.”

Bush downplayed that intelligence, telling the briefer, “All right. You’ve covered your ass, now.” It was one month later that Bin Laden carried out the September 11 attacks.

Trump’s comments about these types of briefings is also hypocritical. He has repeatedly called out Obama for allegedly skipping them.

In September 2012, Trump tweeted, “Priorities — while fundraising and campaigning on our dime, Obama has skipped over 50% of his intel briefings.”

Then in October 2014, he tweeted something similar, “Obama has missed 58% of his intelligence briefings. But our president does make 100% of his fundraisers.”