Trump Has Taken Fewer Briefings Than Biden and Obama. Now Officials Are Turning to Fox News for Inspiration: Report
President Donald Trump has received significantly fewer intelligence briefings than his predecessors, and now officials are considering remaking the President's Daily Brief (PDB) to resemble a Fox News broadcast in an effort to capture his attention.
The PDB is a classified intelligence document designed to keep the commander-in-chief informed on pressing global and national security issues. Traditionally a written and sometimes graphical document, the PDB has been tailored in past instances to presidents' personal preferences.
Trump has reportedly taken the PDB just 14 times since returning to office, according to NBC News. That's far fewer than the 55 briefings he received during a similar period in his first term, or the 90 and 63 briefings taken by Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, respectively.
Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, is now leading an effort to overhaul how the PDB is delivered. According to five sources familiar with the internal deliberations, Gabbard and her team have discussed presenting the daily intelligence update in video form, styled like a Fox News segment.
Some proposals have included hiring a producer from the network and using animated graphics—such as maps showing exploding bombs—to capture Trump's attention. Other tweaks under discussion include focusing more on topics Trump cares about, such as trade and the economy, while downplaying coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Despite a spokesperson dismissing NBC's report as "laughable" and "fake news," sources inside the intelligence community say the changes reflect broader efforts by Gabbard to reform the PDB and build trust with a distrusting president. Gabbard is reportedly planning to relocate the PDB's production from CIA headquarters in Langley to her own office in McLean to consolidate oversight.
As the reforms unfold, intelligence officials and congressional overseers remain divided over whether the changes are innovative or dangerously partisan.
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DW
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Iranian nuclear program 'devastated'— US defense secretary – DW – 06/22/2025
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