Well, this is a new one. In Donald Trump's latest interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace on Sunday, the president-elect confirmed that he has not been receiving as many intelligence briefings as previous president-elects have because he's a "smart person."
Despite not having any prior political experience or knowledge of the responsibilities that a president must hold, Trump stated that he only requires briefs once a week. Trump added that the weekly briefs should only held if news or procedures have changed. "I say, ‘If something should change from this point, immediately call me. I’m available on one-minute’s notice,'" Trump said of his knew system. "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."
Trump has been pretty vocal about his criticism of the U.S. intelligence community during his presidential campaign and again when he was elected into office. The businessman has previously called the daily briefs "ridiculous" after the intelligence organization made claims that the Russian government had launched cyber attacks during the campaigning process in order to push him ahead in the election, according to reports.
But despite his criticism of the intelligence community, Trump says he will lean on the occasional briefing when he sees fit. "I mean, there will be some very fluid situations. I'll be there not every day, but more than that," he continued. "But I don't need to be told, Chris, the same thing every day, every morning, same words, ‘Sir, nothing has changed. Let's go over it again.' I don't need that."
While Trump won' be receiving his daily briefings, he noted that his latest nominees for his Cabinet James Mattis as secretary of defense and John Kelly as his pick for secretary of homeland security, are being "regularly briefed." So we have that.
