--- title: Donald Trump: I Don't Need Daily Intelligence Briefings description: Donald Trump said he doesn't need daily intelligence briefings, because he's a "smart person." canonical: https://time.com/4597376/donald-trump-fox-news-intelligence-cia-russia/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-11T16:15:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:58.187Z article:section: Politics og:title: Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Need Daily Intelligence Briefings og:description: The president-elect was interviewed on Fox News Sunday og:url: https://time.com/4597376/donald-trump-fox-news-intelligence-cia-russia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cec95d3694466b/6988b284a988ca4a6d6ba6b3/trump-fox-news-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President-Elect Donald Trump Attends Annual Army Navy Football Game og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Need Daily Intelligence Briefings twitter:description: The president-elect was interviewed on Fox News Sunday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cec95d3694466b/6988b284a988ca4a6d6ba6b3/trump-fox-news-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Need Daily Intelligence Briefings Because He's a 'Smart Person' > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. The president-elect was interviewed on Fox News Sunday_ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2016 4:15 PM UTC by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Dec 11, 2016 4:15 PM UTC [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4597357/donald-trump-walter-white-saturday-night-live/) said he doesn’t need daily intelligence briefings because he’s a “smart person.” Trump, who currently receives the presidential daily brief just once a week, said in an interview with [_Fox News Sunday_](http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/11/trump-claims-russian-interference-in-2016-race-ridiculous-dems-making-excuses.html)that he only requires the information if something has changed. “I say, ‘If something should change from this point, immediately call me. I’m available on one-minute’s notice,'” he said. “I don’t have to be told—you know, I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years.” During the interview with host Chris Wallace, Trump also addressed the CIA report of Russian interference in the election, which he called “ridiculous.” “It’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it,” he said. “Every week it’s another excuse.” His comments follow a statement from a [bipartisan group of senators](http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/press-releases/mccain-graham-schumer-reed-joint-statement-on-reports-that-russia-interfered-with-the-2016-election), who said on Sunday that the report “should alarm every American.” “While protecting classified material, we have an obligation to inform the public about recent cyberattacks that have cut to the heart of our free society,” the senators said. In response to a question about his conflicts of interest, the president-elect said he would not be involved with his business while serving as president. When Wallace pointed out that Trump repeatedly criticized Hillary Clinton’s ties with the Clinton Foundation during the election and that now, foreign leaders may try “to curry favor with the President of the United States” by making deals with his business, Trump dismissed the concern. He said he is “turning down billions of dollars in deals,” including seven deals last week from “one big player.” “I’m not going to be doing deals at all,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4597376/donald-trump-fox-news-intelligence-cia-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4597376/donald-trump-fox-news-intelligence-cia-russia/"},"headline":"Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Need Daily Intelligence Briefings Because He's a 'Smart Person'","datePublished":"2016-12-11T16:15:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:58.187Z","description":"The president-elect was interviewed on Fox News Sunday","url":"https://time.com/4597376/donald-trump-fox-news-intelligence-cia-russia/","keywords":["Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cec95d3694466b/6988b284a988ca4a6d6ba6b3/trump-fox-news-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02cec95d3694466b/6988b284a988ca4a6d6ba6b3/trump-fox-news-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President-Elect Donald Trump Attends Annual Army Navy Football Game","caption":"President-Elect Donald Trump Attends Annual Army Navy Football Game","creditText":"Aaron P. 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