Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright tore into Trump this morning during an appearance on CNN, saying she was “stunned” by his attacks on the intelligence community yesterday.
The president’s widely-condemned tweets against the IC were prompted by an address to the Senate Intelligence Committee by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel during which they refuted some of Trump’s favorite lies about national security issues.
One after another, the president’s claims that ISIS has been defeated (in fact they still have thousands of fighters), that North Korea is denuclearizing (they will continue to maintain their nuclear capabilities), and that the Iran deal is defective (Iran is not working to produce a nuclear device) were knocked down and shredded by intelligence professionals.
Trumped responded by calling the IC “extremely passive and naive” when it comes to Iran and suggested that they should “go back to school.” It was an utterly shameful display from a sitting commander-in-chief, and once again reminded much of the country that this man is entirely unfit to lead. His ego and laziness get in the way of him performing his most basic responsibilities.
The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2019
….a source of potential danger and conflict. They are testing Rockets (last week) and more, and are coming very close to the edge. There economy is now crashing, which is the only thing holding them back. Be careful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2019
As Secretary of State, Albright had to work closely with the intelligence community to help shape the United States’ foreign policy under President Bill Clinton, so she knows better than anyone how damaging the president’s tweets could be. She compared Trump’s behavior to his predecessors.
“I worked for presidents that actually were interested in what was going on and knew what the role of the intelligence community is and was. And so I am stunned by this, and I think it only proves something that troubles me deeply is that this president is someone that doesn’t want to learn,” she said.
Her assessment is spot-on, as Trump seems to embrace his own ignorance. He believes what he wants to believe, and no amount of evidence can dissuade him from his assumptions.
“I think that part of being a responsible public servant and a leader is to listen to different opinions and to understand and to ask in depth what is going on instead of putting them down,” Albright added.
The former Secretary of State went on to sketch out the problems that Trump’s tweets could create, primarily that a rift between the president and his intelligence community makes it harder for both to do their jobs and keep America safe.
Watch the video below.
