Joe Biden Has An Opinion On Donald Trump Receiving Intelligence Briefings
When Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential Election, he vowed that he would be a different president from his predecessor, Donald Trump. The former was known to make "rash" decisions on foreign policy, according to Slate, and "rarely, if ever" read his intelligence reports, per The New York Times. Sources told the outlet that Trump was "particularly difficult to brief on critical national security matters," because he would veer "off on tangents," and has "a short attention span." Trump was more likely to "examine graphs, charts and tables," instead of reading intelligence reports.
The former president's intelligence briefings and character became topics of discussion for Biden in an interview with CBS News ahead of the Super Bowl LV game, which sees the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Scroll down to find out what the current president has to say about the future of Trump's intelligence briefings.
Joe Biden doesn't understand why Donald Trump should still receive intelligence briefings
The topic of former president Donald Trump receiving intelligence briefings first came up when White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about it during her daily press briefing on Feb. 4, 2021. "The intelligence community supports requests for intelligence briefings by former presidents and will review any incoming requests, as they always have," Psaki said (via CNN). According to the outlet, intelligence briefings are customary for former presidents if they request them. However, Joe Biden thinks otherwise and believes that Trump should not be able to access intelligence briefings moving forward — an opinion echoed by other Democratic politicians, per Politico.
"What value is giving him an intelligence briefing?" Biden responded to CBS News' Norah O'Donnell when asked if Trump should receive one if he requested. "What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?"
Biden added that Trump should not be able to receive intelligence briefings "because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection." He did not, however, elaborate on his concerns if Trump was able to continue accessing intelligence briefings, though he still believes the former president is "an existential threat," Politico noted.
Although Biden's interview is set to air before the big game, he has also not yet revealed which team he's rooting for to take home The Vince Lombardi Trophy.