'Trump Lives in the Eternal Now': Gen. Hayden Explains the Dangers of Trump's Ignorance of History
President Donald Trump apparent lack of interest in world affairs and his impulsivity may pose serious risks to American efforts abroad, as Gen. Michael Hayden and HBO host Bill Maher pointed out on "Real Time" Friday night.
Responding to a viewer's question about how U.S. intelligence operations are being protected from a president who reportedly leaked sensitive information to the Russians, Hayden, who has headed up both the NSA and CIA, noted that there's not much of a buffer. Whoever is elected president gets access to the nation's secrets.Â
Maher argued that Trump doesn't actually even seem to care about intelligence briefings, focusing instead on "whether Nordstrom is selling Ivanka's shoes."
"And that's one of the challenges we have," Hayden said. "Michael Gerson, one of Bush (W.)'s speechwriters, said 'Donald Trump lives in the eternal now.' Little history, no consequence. The whole job of intelligence is context. And we just fly by one another."
Maher added: "And the long game. That's why we didn't have a hot war, when we had a cold war. Because it was fought by your people [intelligence agencies.] And that's a preferable way to do it."
Watch the clip below:
