In an interview that aired Sunday, Donald Trump acknowledged that he doesn’t receive intelligence briefings every day, arguing that he’s “smart” enough to only receive them occasionally.
“I get it when I need it,” Trump said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked how often he gets intelligence briefings. “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 said that he’s told advisers that if something changes, he should be briefed immediately but that otherwise he does not need constant briefings. He added that Mike Pence and his “generals” are getting briefed regularly.
Trump also addressed climate change, which he called a “hoax” on the campaign trail.
“I’m still open-minded. Nobody really knows,” Trump said on “Fox News Sunday” regarding climate change. “Look, I’m somebody that gets it, and nobody really knows. It’s not something that’s so hard and fast. I do know this: Other countries are eating our lunch.”
He said he was “studying” the Paris climate accord but would not say whether he would try to leave the agreement.
Wallace asked Trump if he would “take a wrecking ball to the Obama legacy.”
“No. No. No. I don’t want to do that at all. I just want what’s right,” Trump replied.
“EPA, you can’t get things approved. I mean, people are waiting in line for 15 years before they get rejected, okay?” he continued. “That’s why people don’t want to invest in this country.”
I anticipate four years of the media carrying his water, fetching his bag, backing up his slurs. He’s President now, dammit: that means the media won’t undermine him.
Eight years? I’m placing my money on eight months.
I tried several times to start a comment, and then realized I have to fall back on my same old reaction:
“Words fail me…”
ETA: Truly intelligent people have a realistic idea of the limits of their knowledge. This statement by Trump reveals his total ignorance.
(The words always come later…I am always gobsmacked by the depth of idiocy of this man…)
Only a genuine mental case would claim he doesn’t need intelligence briefings because he’s “smart.” Imagine how that will play if we have a major terrorist attack in the U.S., the risk of which he was too “smart” to be briefed about.
We have a narcissistic sociopath as President-elect.
Translation: I’m doing something really stupid because I’m smart.
In Practice: I heat my tea by lighting my pants on fire because I’m smart.