Trump’s schedule shows poor attendance at intelligence briefings
President has only been present at 22 percent of meetings
President Donald Trump has an abysmal attendance record when it comes to intelligence briefings.
Over the course of his first year-and-a-half in office, Trump has had a habit of skipping daily intelligence briefings, according to his public schedule.
The meetings provide presidents with a chance to confer with intelligence officials about threats and other international developments. Trump attended the meeting Thursday, for only the second time this month.
The president’s aversion to interacting with his intelligence officials comes as little surprise, given his public rebuke of the U.S. intelligence community assessment of Russian election meddling and previous reports about his disdain for enduring detailed discussions.
A Daily News analysis of Trump’s schedule shows that he rarely meets with intelligence officials to review their assessments.
The president attended 121 such briefings during his first 545 days in the White House, putting his attendance rate at only 22 percent.
That statistic was reached using the same methodology used by the Government Accountability Institute — a right-wing group founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon — to criticize President Barack Obama in a 2013 report.
During his first 1,225 days in office, Obama attended 536 daily intelligence meetings — an attendance record of 43.8 percent, according to the group.
The group did not respond to requests for comment about whether they would analyze or highlight Trump’s attendance record.
Trump was one of Obama’s biggest critics when it came to intelligence briefings. He said in September 2014 that Obama “does not read his intelligence briefings” and mocked him as “too busy I guess!”
Trump officials defended the president’s responsiveness to intelligence.
“The president receives daily updates and regular briefings from his national security team,” a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.