Donald Trump is Taking Daily Briefings Less than Once a Week

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President Donald Trump is taking daily briefings on intelligence matters less than once a week, according to his public schedule.
He has looked at the routine rundown known as the President's Daily Brief (PDB) less often than in his first term, said NBC News.
This is also less frequently than his recent predecessors, the outlet reported, though his predecessors also did not take daily briefings.
A White House spokesperson recently told POLITICO that Trump was "constantly apprised" of briefings and "regularly in touch with his national security team."
Why It Matters
The PDB is a daily document that briefs the president and members of the cabinet with classified intelligence issues pertaining to national security.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
The briefings come as the U.S. is engaged with multiple international issues, from trying to broker peace deals in Gaza and Ukraine to navigating potential threats from China and Russia.
It follows reporting in Trump's first administration that indicated Trump preferred graphics in intelligence briefings.
What To Know
NBC reported that, in their first year in office, former President Joe Biden received 90 PDBs. Trump received 55 in his first administration and former president Barack Obama received 63. Under this analysis, none of the three former presidents took daily briefings.
On May 9, POLITICO reported that Trump had, up to that point, sat for 12 PDBs since January.
CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported in April that the Trump administration has restricted the number of people who have access to the report to avoid potential leaks to the press.
Also in February, Trump revoked Biden's access to daily briefings, in retaliation for Biden doing the same to Trump in 2021. Traditionally, former presidents continue to receive intelligence briefings even after leaving office.
What People Are Saying
William F. Hall, an adjunct professor of political science and business at Webster University in St. Louis, told Newsweek: "The quality, comprehensiveness and most of all, truthfulness, of the information provided by the presidential briefings, in whatever specific type or structure of communication format or frequency of schedule employed, is of far more importance than either frequency of briefings or specific type of format of presentation utilized."
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee told POLITICO: "It's sadly clear that President Trump doesn't value the expertise of and dangerous work performed by our intelligence professionals each and every day, and unfortunately, it leaves the American people increasingly vulnerable to threats we ought to see coming."
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson told POLITICO: "The president is constantly apprised of classified briefings and is regularly in touch with his national security team. The entire intelligence community actively informs President Trump in real time about critical national security developments."
National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes told POLITICO: "President Trump has multiple high-level, national security briefings every day. While the scope can range from a comprehensive presentation of global intelligence, to meeting with senior national security officials on an issue of immediate importance, the daily engagement of President Trump is prolific."
What Happens Next
The frequency with which Trump takes briefings as his presidency continues may change.

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