Trump is showing ‘less interest’ in terrorist plots during intelligence briefings: report

President Donald Trump has struggled with his intelligence briefings, according to several reports. Early on in his presidency, staff learned that Trump couldn't follow along without pictures or graphics in the briefing. Briefers have been forced to reduce their reports to bullet points to keep his attention. As the administration wore on, Trump began skipping briefings altogether and opting for Fox News and "executive time" instead.

According to the New York Times, briefers have warned Trump about hacking from Russia and China to no avail. So, they are trying to frame intelligence information within the context of economics. To make matters worse, Trump isn't much interested in reports of possible terror attacks.

"In an effort to accommodate President Trump, who has attacked them publicly as 'naïve' and in need of going 'back to school,' the nation’s intelligence agencies have revamped their presentations to focus on subjects their No. 1 customer wants to hear about — economics and trade," The Times reported Sunday.

Intel officers have revealed that Trump doesn't care much about the people being harmed. He cares about one major question: who is winning? To him, winning is about money or gaining a financial advantage.

“If Trump tailors it to his needs, that is fine and his prerogative,” The Times quoted career CIA official Douglas H. Wise, who worked as a former top deputy at the Defense Intelligence Agency. “However, if he suppresses intelligence through that tailoring, that is not helpful. He is no longer making informed decisions because he is making decisions based on information he could have had but didn’t have.”

Perhaps more frightening, Trump shows little interest in details about any potential terrorist attacks or spy work happening in the United States. The Times described it as "less interest," which is concerning given the 2001 intelligence information that was ignored by former President George W. Bush.

Monday, August 6, 2001, the Presidential Daily Brief occurred while Bush was vacationing at his Crawford, Texas ranch. The CIA brief was declassified as part of the 9/11 Commission to investigate the failure in protecting the country. The brief was titled, "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in the US."

"FBI information since [1998] indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York," the report read.

Less than two pages predicted the deaths of over 3,000 lives if someone was more interested. Trump has luckily not faced any terrorist attacks other than homegrown shootings and other incidents.

The Times also revealed Trump has a fascination with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to sources, Trump has repeatedly asked why she "won't cut a deal with him on military spending. Advisers have tried to explain that she is part of a coalition agreement which constrains German defense funding.

Read the full report at The New York Times.