For Spy Agencies, Briefing Trump Is a Test of Holding His Attention
Mr. Trump, who has mounted a years long attack on the intelligence agencies, is particularly difficult to brief on critical national security matters, according to interviews with 10 current and former intelligence officials familiar with his intelligence briefings.
The president veers off on tangents and getting him back on topic is difficult, they said. He has a short attention span and rarely, if ever, reads intelligence reports, relying instead on conservative media and his friends for gossip and information. He doesn’t hesitate to interrupt intelligence officers, and believes what he hears from the conservative media.
Working to keep Mr. Trump’s interest exhausted and burned out his first briefer, Ted Gistaro. Mr. Gistaro did not always know what to expect and would sometimes have to brief an erratic and angry president fuming over ‘liberal’ TV news reports.
White House officials disputed the characterization of Mr. Trump as inattentive. Robert C. O’Brien, the national security adviser, said in response to a request for comment “The president is laser-focused on the issues at hand and asks probing questions throughout the briefings — it reminds me of appearing before a well-prepared appellate judge and defending the case”.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/us/politics/presidents-daily-brief-trump.html?login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock
(Many have said no previous president had a brain like Trump)
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