WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s intelligence chief is exploring ways to revamp his routine intelligence briefing in order to build his trust in the material and make it more aligned with how he likes to consume information, according to five people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
Gabbard has discussed more extensive changes, according to the people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
It’s unclear how far her effort will go, but the people with direct knowledge of it said she has entertained some unconventional ideas.
“The problem with Trump is that he doesn’t read,” said another people with direct knowledge of the PDB discussions.
U.S. intelligence officials have created videos in the past to present information to presidents, including profiles of world leaders, for instance.
WASHINGTON — According to five people with direct knowledge of the discussions, President Donald Trump’s intelligence chief is looking into ways to improve his regular intelligence briefing to increase his confidence in the information and better suit his preferred method of information consumption.
In order to do so, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard has asked both current and former intelligence officials for suggestions on how she could modify the President’s Daily Brief, or PDB, to better suit Trump’s policy preferences and interests.
Creating a video version of the PDB that mimics the appearance and feel of a Fox News broadcast is one idea that has been discussed, according to four people who were directly involved in the discussions.
Today, the PDB is a digital document with written text, graphics, and images that is produced every day for the president, important Cabinet members, and advisors. A president’s decision-making process may be influenced by the content and presentation of the classified briefing.
Trump has taken the PDB 14 times since taking office, or less than once a week on average, according to his public schedule. This is less frequent than his recent predecessors, including himself during his first term. When their public schedules from their inauguration to May of their first year in office are analyzed, it can be seen that former President Barack Obama received 63 PDBs, former President Joe Biden received 90, and former President Trump received 55.
According to those who had firsthand knowledge of the PDB talks, Gabbard thinks that Trump’s inclination to absorb information in a different format than the official briefing and his mistrust of intelligence officials, which dates back to his first term when he accused them of spying on his 2016 campaign, may be the reasons behind his cadence. Additionally, they stated that the data contained would remain unchanged even if the PDB’s presentation changed.
DNI Press Secretary Olivia Coleman responded to a request for comment by saying in a statement, “This so-called’reporting’ is laughable, absurd, and outright false.”. As is customary with fake news, NBC is releasing another untrue story that was obtained anonymously. “”.
During Gabbard’s Senate confirmation process, “there was bipartisan consensus that the PDB was in need of serious reform,” according to a source familiar with the DNI’s internal discussions. Leading that change and making sure the President gets timely, pertinent, and unbiased intelligence reporting is DNI Gabbard. “”.
“President Trump has put together a world-class intelligence team with whom he is continuously in contact and receives real-time updates on all pressing national security issues,” White House Spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement, calling this reporting “libelous garbage from unnamed sources.”. President Trump has made protecting the safety and security of the American people his top priority. “”.
The PDB is frequently customized for respective presidents. For Trump’s first term, the PDB’s presentation was modified to have more images and graphics and less text. According to those directly aware of the discussions, Gabbard has talked about more significant changes. Although it’s unclear how far her effort will go, those with firsthand knowledge of it claim she has considered some outlandish ideas.
According to four people with direct knowledge of the discussions, one suggestion that has been made is to change the PDB to make it resemble a Fox News broadcast. As previously mentioned, the national intelligence director’s office could employ a Fox News producer to create it and a Fox News personality to present it. Trump, who frequently watches Fox News, could then watch the PDB broadcast whenever he wishes.
Another source familiar with the discussions suggested that a new PDB might incorporate maps with animated depictions of detonating bombs, akin to a video game, in addition to graphics and images.
“Trump’s inability to read is his problem,” stated another individual with firsthand knowledge of the PDB talks. He’s constantly on the air. “”.
Since they were not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations, the individuals who had direct knowledge of the PDB discussions spoke on condition of anonymity.
U. S. . Videos containing, for example, profiles of world leaders have previously been produced by intelligence officials to deliver information to presidents. For the Energy Department and the United States, Hollywood icon Charlton Heston narrated educational films on highly classified subjects. S. . the military and intelligence community. Because the movies contained nuclear weapons-related content, Heston had to maintain the highest level of security clearance for a minimum of six years.
Trump, according to former intelligence officials from the first Trump administration, would rather be briefed orally and ask questions than read memos or other lengthy written document.
John Helgerson’s history of presidential briefings reveals that during Trump’s first term, the PDB changed into a one-page outline of topics with a set of graphics, delivered orally by an intelligence officer roughly twice a week.
Vice President Mike Pence instructed the briefers to “lean forward on maps” in order to accommodate Trump’s preferences and style, according to Helgerson’s book.
However, no PDB presentation akin to that of a broadcast or cable news has been made. Since its inception in 1946, the PDB has undergone numerous changes under several presidents, but it has mostly been in written form that is subsequently verbally briefed to the president.
Three individuals with direct knowledge of the PDB discussions also said that Gabbard has talked about adjusting some of the content to Trump’s preferences, such as adding more details about trade and economic issues and reducing the regular emphasis on the conflict in Ukraine.
It is common practice to include intelligence on matters that are especially important to the president. One of those three individuals stated that gender and climate change issues were part of Biden’s PDB.
“You change with the administration’s priorities,” the source stated, adding that it would be difficult to persuade Trump to accept the PDB due to his mistrust of the intelligence community. “”.
In his capacity as national intelligence director, Gabbard supervises and authorizes the PDB. The PDB is created by a sizable team of CIA analysts and other staff members using the most recent information obtained by the country’s spy services to produce intricate text, images, and videos.
According to NBC News, Gabbard intends to improve her office’s function in providing intelligence to the president by relocating the PDB preparation office from CIA’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters to the national intelligence director’s office in McLean, a few miles away.
According to one of the five people with knowledge of the talks, the ODNI would have to hire more employees and purchase digital tools and other infrastructure in order to put together the PDB.
Even if the PDB were turned into a video for Trump, it would probably still be sent to other high-ranking administration officials in a similar format, the source said.
In addition to anything new that day, Trump currently receives a product that one of the people familiar with the PDB discussions described as the “best of” highlights from the previous week because he has been taking the PDB on average a little less than once a week.
As two people with knowledge of the situation have revealed, Gabbard’s chief of staff, Joe Kent, asked analysts to update an assessment on a Venezuelan criminal gang that seemed to contradict Trump’s immigration policy, raising concerns about whether Gabbard may politicize the intelligence process.
After the initial intelligence assessment refuted Trump’s claims that the Tren de Aragua cartel was acting under the direction of Venezuela’s regime, led by Nicolás Maduro, two senior officials who headed the National Intelligence Council were recently fired. Trump used allegations regarding the regime’s alleged ties to the cartel as justification for using the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely applied 1798 law, to deport individuals suspected of being gang members without following the required due process procedures.
Putting their own staffs in place is a common practice for intelligence chiefs, but the action alarmed congressional Democrats who were already doubting some of Gabbard’s attempts to have more control over the intelligence that gets to Trump.
“Without proof to support the dismissals, employees can only conclude that their employment depends on delivering analysis that supports the president’s political agenda rather than insightful and impartial analysis,” Rep. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes of Connecticut, said in a statement.
NBC News previously reported that the two officials were dismissed “because they were unable to provide unbiased intelligence,” according to an administration official. “.”.
