TFG Was 'Fact Free' During Briefings, Says Former National Intelligence Director

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

During intelligence briefings, former President Donald Trump was “fact free” and prone to “fly off on tangents,” said James Clapper, former director of national intelligence.

Clapper’s comments come from a recently released CIA publication, Getting to Know the President, which chronicles the relationship between the intelligence community and U.S. presidents during their transition and administration. Written by retired intelligence officer John L. Helgerson, the latest chapter covers Trump and reveals how unprepared and unconventional Trump was. It is important to note, however, that this is not a neutral account, given Trump’s rocky history with the intelligence agencies.

“Briefing Trump presented the IC with the most difficult challenges it had ever faced,” Helgerson wrote. According to the report, the intelligence community struggled large part because Trump “doubted the competence of intelligence professionals and felt no need for regular intelligence support.” Not since Nixon, nearly 50 years earlier, did the nation’s intelligence staff have such a difficult time with a president, Helgerson said.

Trump’s public and vocal criticism of the intelligence community created tension between them. Which is why, during one of his first intelligence briefings while he was still a candidate, Helgerson reported that briefers “were surprised” when Trump “assured them that ‘the nasty things he was saying’ publicly about the intelligence community ‘don’t apply to you.’ ” Then, in a televised debate with Hillary Clinton on Sept. 7, Trump claimed that briefers’ “body language” had suggested they were “not happy” with Obama’s policies.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/trump-fact-free-during-briefings-202232142.html

[badhair77]

1. Well, we wouldn't want him to be

weighed down with facts. Seems like they would confuse him.

[TigressDem]

2. So not much has changed. He's still keeping his old habits. nt

[keithbvadu2]

3. Don't worry! Jared got the intel facts... so he could sell them.

Don't worry! Jared got the intel facts... so he could sell them.

[MyOwnPeace]

4. Yet more proof......

He didn't really want the job - he was not fit/qualified for the job - and he did not know how to DO the job.

And 74 million wanted him to 'do' it for another 4 years.....

[Septua]

6. Exactly

Trump has neither the intelligence nor intellect to be a president. He didn't want the job, just the title and its inherent power. So, he just did what he does know how to do, con and grift.

[GopherGal]

15. Nor did he have the temperament

He did like the trappings, though. (even if he did think the White House a bit of a dump...)

[Boomerproud]

8. The power of cult "thinking ".

Yes, there are many factors to blame for tRump but the real fault lies individually with his supporters.

[renate]

20. I kind of think so too

He ran for the presidency as a grift; he never intended to win.

And then it happened, and he was in way over his head. Now, because he is a shitstain and a literally pathological narcissist, instead of realizing that he was in over his head and trying to do the right thing by looking for people to run the government competently, he immediately switched to "how can I make money from this" and "how can I attempt to look like a strongman despite being an absolute and utter moron and loser," and therefore the years between 1/17 and 1/21 happened.

I blame him for being a horrible horrible horrible moron and loser, but even more than that I blame his voters. Good lord, what hideous souls they have. I never would have believed so many people could be not just so stupid but so cruel and selfish until he came along to give them a voice.

[MyOwnPeace]

24. NAILED IT!!!!

And don't forget, he brought in 'only the best!'*


*MOST indicted mis-administration in the history of these United States.

[Progressive Jones]

21. All because of the ridiculous notion that just any ordinary yokel

is qualified to govern the nation. I doubt it was true even in 1776.

[gratuitous]

7. "This is not a neutral account"

So what's not neutral about a factual recitation of the former guy's total unfitness for the job? If he comes off looking like an ignorant bully, maybe it's because he's an ignorant bully. Truth based on facts is neutral, even if it makes someone look bad.

[Boomerproud]

9. Yahoo site. Says it all.

[

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. It's from Rolling Stone

which isn't actually said by "Yahoo site".

[Stuart G]

10. Why is Trump "fact free"? My opinion & I think it's true: Trump didn't give a shit about learning .

anything at all......................................................................................
... .Trump was so sure he could ...con the U.S.A. and the World, that he didn't want to learn anything!

And indeed, he is still conning the Republican Party, and many of its followers.

...And, that con is going on today, as I type these words...I don't think Trump will get elected ever again,
but unless convicted of serious crime or crimes, he will have followers till he is no more. That last
sentence is very true, and that idea is very, very sad.

[Claustrum]

13. Actually, I think Trump didn't give a shit about facts or having facts on his side.

He said it all in the Woodward interview. If there is a matter that doesn't present him in a positive light, he will ignore it and pretend it never happened. It's not that he is unwilling to learn. If something benefits his point of view or makes him look good, he will have no problem learning about them. It is just that when facts or reality isn't favorable for him (COVID, his election loss, etc), he will ignore any facts presented to him and he will keep his own alternate version that he views as favorable and let facts be damned.

[tanyev]

23. Because Trump believes he knows more and is smarter than everyone else in the room combined.

And he doesn't have to waste time reading or listening to briefings to know things. All he has to do is have FOX News on in the background and read the occasional chyron.

[Stuart G]

11. I forgot an idea...Thank You for Posting this Outstanding Article. K and R

[dalton99a]

14. The traitor only trusted Russian intelligence

[wnylib]

16. I'm currently reading Trumpocracy, by

David Frum. It's an old book that was published in 2018. I picked it up at a library sale.

The fact free briefings are no surprise. Frum says that Trump never had any interest in governing. His sole interest in being president was to have the power and contacts to use the government for getting money to live his preferred life style. Frum backs it up with details about Trump's financial use of his position to bring money into his failing businesses and to divert campaign donations to himself and his fsmily. At the same time the White House staff was so disorganized that it barely functioned. He mentions Trump's disinterest in briefings snd short attention span.

It's interesting to me to read this now, after Trump is out of office and we can see the contrast in how the executive branch is running normally again. The book pulls no punches in telling just how corrupt, inept, and horrific the Trump White House was. And that was only covering the first two years. It got much worse after this book came out.

[Initech]

18. Pfft... facts. Who needs them? Only unfiltered outrage matters!

[onethatcares]

22. sheesh, it would have been

nice to hear this in 2017 when it could have made a difference.

If we as an internet forum could tell he was lying and making shit up, one would think the people in charge of

the government agencies could have done the same.

Day late/dollar short. That cow already kicked the barn down.

[msfiddlestix]

25. No Shit. n/t