'Ongoing large distrust issues' fuel Trump move to limit access to Presidential Daily Brief: official

The Trump administration has reportedly limited the number of individuals who can access President Donald Trump’s confidential daily intelligence briefing.

CNN reported Thursday that officials within the administration intended from the beginning of Trump's second term to reduce access to the President's Daily Brief (PDB) partly due to instances during his first term when information from the report was leaked to the media. This fueled Trump's belief that the intelligence community was working against him.

CNN quoted sources as saying it was initially White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles who was deciding who had access. Burt now, Director of National Security Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard handles access to the president.

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Since being elected in 2016, Trump has held a significant distrust of the intelligence community. In his second term, the president has appointed individuals who openly align with his skepticism.

"Trump, since he was first elected in 2016, has harbored a deep mistrust of the intelligence community, and in his second administration he has appointed officials who openly share his suspicions," CNN reports.

"Current and former officials say the move to limit access to the PDB comes against the backdrop of the president and his top officials’ determination to quash leaks and bring to heel what they see as subversive elements within the intelligence community — highlighting what one US official described as 'ongoing large distrust issues.'"

Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump declined to receive intelligence briefings that are typically provided to major party candidates, partially due to leaks of the PDB content during his first term, as noted by a source CNN quoted.

The administration appears to be motivated by that belief in overseeing the intelligence community, as it has taken strong measures to restrict access to information regarding intelligence and policy discussions. This access is being granted only to a select group of officials considered sufficiently loyal to the MAGA agenda.

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"Gabbard in particular has vowed publicly to 'aggressively [pursue] recent leakers' and 'clean house.' She told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing that she 'will welcome dissenting voices to be able to make sure that [the PDB] is thoroughly vetted prior to presenting it and make sure that the truth is reported whether that truth is convenient or not'," the CNN report notes.

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