Trump steps into security bubble; will he bring his cell phone?
WASHINGTON — A few hours after President-elect Donald Trump was briefed by intelligence officials about Russian meddling in the election, an Associated Press reporter called his cellphone seeking an interview.
The call went to voicemail and the reporter did not leave a message. About an hour later, Trump called back.
It’s hard to imagine many politicians — particularly one about to become president of the United States — calling back an unknown number on their cellphone.
With Trump, it’s simply how business gets done, whether he’s fielding calls from real estate partners and longtime friends or foreign leaders and congressional lawmakers in the weeks after the election.
But as Trump prepares to take the oath of office today, the future of his ever-present Android smartphone is now a matter of national security. On Thursday, he told a friend that he had given up his phone, as security agencies had urged him to do. It was unclear whether he was following the lead of President Barack Obama, the nation’s first cellphone-toting president, who exchanged his personal device for a Blackberry heavily modified for security purposes.
The presidency has long been a lonely, isolating office, with security concerns keeping the commander in chief at a distance from the public. Under Obama, worries about cyber intrusions — particularly by foreign governments — pulled the president’s technology deeper into the security bubble as well. Many of the functions on Obama’s Blackberry were blocked and only a handful of people had his phone number or email address.
Trump doesn’t email, but he uses his phone to tweet — something he’s made clear he plans to continue in office. He’s known to make calls early in the morning and late at night, often seeking input from multiple sources when making a decision. Sometimes he leaves a voicemail.
Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a friend of the president-elect, described Trump’s phone etiquette, as “just like one of his speeches, it’s very stream of consciousness.”
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., called Trump “amazingly accessible,” saying the president-elect picks up his phone even when he doesn’t know who is calling.
Foreign leaders and diplomats took advantage of Trump’s accessibility in the days after his election as they scrambled to find ways to reach him. Some called into Trump Tower hoping to be transferred to the president-elect’s office. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball got Trump’s cellphone number from the golfer Greg Norman.
Trump’s accessibility can create headaches for his aides, who can’t always control who he’s speaking to or what he’s saying. After actress Meryl Streep blasted Trump during a Golden Globes speech earlier this month, a New York Times reporter called the president-elect at midnight to get a response. Trump’s criticism of Streep dominated the news the following day, overshadowing his team’s planned agenda.