--- title: Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ description: The President then pointed to journalists covering his rally and said they were “almost as bad” as a leaker. canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-10-15T08:40:04.272Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-15T08:40:04.454Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ og:description: The President then pointed to journalists covering his rally and said they were "almost as bad” as a leaker. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b192387775e6743/6ad08ac08cb714a604b3ab9c/trump-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y44.96 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: trump-arizona.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ twitter:description: The President then pointed to journalists covering his rally and said they were "almost as bad” as a leaker. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b192387775e6743/6ad08ac08cb714a604b3ab9c/trump-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y44.96 ---  # Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ and Rails Against Media at Rally > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=af1de433-39e5-447e-95ba-c9dc9aee127d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Oct 15, 2026 8:40 AM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Oct. 14, 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport in Bullhead City, Ariz., on Oct. 14, 2026. Kent Nishimura—AFP/Getty Images  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Oct 15, 2026 8:40 AM UTC President [Donald Trump](https://time.com/article/2026/10/01/donald-trump-2026-interview-transcript/) suggested on Wednesday that people who leak sensitive information about the government to the media “should be shot,” calling them the “scum of the earth.” “In my opinion, leakers should be shot,” Trump said Wednesday during a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona. “In the old days, we used to shoot leakers, you know, when they leak what time you’re going to attack a country.” Trump’s remark came as he described a planned raid on Iran that he said had to be delayed after somebody “leaked the time we were leaving, the time we were arriving.” He appeared to be referring to [Operation Midnight Hammer](https://time.com/7296469/u-s-strikes-iran-nuclear-trump-war/) in June last year, when the U.S., in a surprise attack, struck three of Iran’s most critical nuclear sites as Tehran was in a [12-day war with Israel](https://time.com/7297049/iran-israel-ceasefire-trump/). In the wake of the June attack, a [leaked Defense Intelligence Agency preliminary report](https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-strikes-set-back-iran-nuclear-program-by-a-few-months-initial-report-says-db9373ad) found that Iran’s nuclear sites had not been as damaged as the Trump Administration first claimed them to be and that Iran could still enrich uranium. Reports also said Iran may have also moved enriched material from the facilities before the attack. “Somebody leaked—some sleazebag,” the President said. “They ought to go to jail and be shot. For the rest of their life, They should be in jail. But they leaked that we were leaving at 12:07 from Missouri, and it was in the _New York Times_, CNN.” Moments later, Trump pointed to the journalists covering his rally and said they were “almost as bad” as leakers. “They leak false information,” the President said. “That makes them a leaker, right?” ## Trump’s long-held view that leakers are bad—most of the time Leakers have incensed Trump even before he was President. In a [2010 clip](https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/04/politics/kfile-trump-wikileaks/index.html) previewing the radio show of Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade, Trump assailed WikiLeaks, which, at the time, had [just released hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. military and diplomatic documents](https://time.com/5568727/wikileaks-war-on-secrecy/) provided by Army private Chelsea Manning. “I think it’s disgraceful,” he told Kilmeade. “I think there should be like death penalty or something.” As a civilian flirting with the U.S.’s top job, he frequently lashed out at former National Security Agency intelligence contractor [Edward Snowden](https://time.com/collections/2014-time-100/70864/edward-snowden-2014-time-100/) on [social media](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/395683702757662721) and [in public remarks](https://www.politico.com/video/2013/06/donald-trump-edward-snowden-really-hurt-us-007306). Snowden’s leaks in 2013 revealed NSA programs that sparked a global debate about government surveillance. Trump, in reaction to the leaks, said that he was a “spy” who “should be executed.” As President, when the [_New York Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html) reported in 2017 that his campaign had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the 2016 presidential election, Trump took [to then-Twitter](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/832197515248275456) to lament how “leaking, and even illegal classified leaking, has been a big problem in Washington for years” and raged that such leakers “[will be caught](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/832198588201594880).” When a whistleblower [came forward in 2019](https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764071379/read-house-intel-releases-whistleblower-complaint-on-trump-ukraine-call) with a complaint alleging that Trump was "using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country" in the 2020 U.S. election, Trump [told the staff](https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-remarks-leaked-recording-un-mission-september-26-2019) of the U.S. mission to the U.N. that he wanted to know who gave the whistleblower information. “That’s close to a spy,” he said. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart, right, with spies and treason, right? We used to handle them a little differently than we do now.” But Trump has welcomed leaks that benefit him politically. Days before the 2016 presidential election, at a rally in Wilmington, Ohio, he [celebrated](https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-wilmington-oh-november-4-2016/) how WikiLeaks released private emails from John Podesta, the campaign chair of his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, as well as emails from the Democratic National Committee. “Boy, I love reading those WikiLeaks!” Trump [said](https://youtu.be/VNsxKzqGJPA?t=2160). He also mused about Russia having hacked into Clinton’s email, and [urged them to publish what they may have found](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-clinton-emails.html). Trump even said that he could be a fan of Snowden if he released former President Barack Obama’s birth records at a time when [conspiracy theories largely fanned by Trump](https://time.com/4496792/birther-rumor-started/) hounded the Democratic former President. ## Trump Administration tries to crack down on leaks The second Trump Administration has since stepped up to limit leaks to the press. When reports of the [U.S.’s dwindling ammunition stockpiles amid the war with Iran emerged](https://time.com/article/2026/05/12/US-ammunition-shortage-iran-war/), the Pentagon [subjected dozens of civilian employees and military officers to polygraph tests](https://time.com/article/2026/09/06/what-the-pentagon-s-sweeping-polygraph-hunt-has-revealed/) to identify the source of the leak. Trump had [called for](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117046698987056229) the leakers to face long-term jail sentences. [Journalists](https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trumps-complaints-about-iran-war-leaks-prompt-aggressive-doj-investigations-b5d31c13?mod=hp%5Flead%5Fpos3) from the _Wall Street Journal_ and the _Washington Post_ received [subpoenas](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/06/23/doj-issued-then-withdrew-subpoenas-force-post-wsj-reporters-testify/) after reporting on national security issues. But the news organizations pushed back against those summons, and the Justice Department withdrew them. In January, the FBI[ raided a _Post_ reporter’s home](https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/the-fbi-raid-on-our-reporters-home/), as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of mishandling sensitive national security information. The Justice Department has also charged alleged leakers: in April, the department [announced](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-army-employee-and-top-secret-clearance-holder-arrested-and-charged-leaking-classified?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) it arrested a former Army employee, alleging that she transmitted classified national defense information to unauthorized recipients, including a journalist. The Defense Department also [threatened to withhold Pentagon access](https://time.com/7324568/pentagon-press-restrictions/) to journalists unless they signed an agreement not to publish unauthorized material. Much of the Pentagon press corps declined, and [a federal judge sided with the press in March](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/20/us-judge-blocks-pentagon-policy), striking several parts of the department’s press access policy. ## Trump has wanted others “shot” too It’s also not the first time that Trump has floated having certain people shot . Three years ago, at a California lunch with Republicans, Trump [said](https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-california-gop-lunch-anaheim-california-september-29-2023/) he was in favor of shooting store robbers and looters, painting himself as tough on crime before the 2024 elections. “They actually go and take everything out of the store, and then you see these guys selling stuff five miles away or selling it from behind cars. It's a horrible thing. When the police are allowed to do their job—and that means, in some cases, shoot them—this will stop immediately.” The President has also previously [pitched shooting migrants](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/politics/trump-border-wars.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage) to keep them from entering the country. According to the book _Border Wars: Inside Trump's Assault on Immigration_, by _New York Times_ reporters Michael D. Shear and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Trump in March 2019 detailed extreme methods to keep them out, privately suggesting to aides that soldiers shoot migrants who cross the border in the legs. But he was told it would not be allowed. Trump addressed the allegations on [social media](https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1179411261337067520), saying: “I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough.” He’s also [suggested doing the same to protesters](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-mark-esper-sacred-oath-60-minutes-2022-05-08/): during the [George Floyd protests](https://time.com/collections/george-floyd-america-reflection/7279984/kimberle-crenshaw-black-lives-matter-essay/) in the spring of 2020, Trump was reportedly enraged, and, according to his first-term Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the President also considered ordering the military to shoot the racial justice protesters in the legs. Last week, [the President approved](https://time.com/article/2026/10/10/firing-squad-execution-lethal-injection-christa-pike-fort-hood-shooter/) what would be the U.S. Army’s first execution of a soldier via firing squad since World War II, and has even [shown enthusiasm](https://x.com/cspan/status/2108671065756987581?s=20) for livestreaming it. Trump, however, has since changed his tune, amid a chorus of negative feedback. “There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it,” Trump [told reporters](https://x.com/FoxNews/status/2108975133645853053) on Saturday. “‘Cause you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did. So I’ll make a decision, ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/"},"headline":"Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ and Rails Against Media at Rally","datePublished":"2026-10-15T08:40:04.272Z","dateModified":"2026-10-15T08:40:04.454Z","description":"The President then pointed to journalists covering his rally and said they were “almost as bad” as a leaker.","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Trump Administration","News Desk","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b192387775e6743/6ad08ac08cb714a604b3ab9c/trump-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y44.96&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b192387775e6743/6ad08ac08cb714a604b3ab9c/trump-arizona.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x0.00%2Coffset-y44.96&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-arizona.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Kent Nishimura—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/10/15/trump-leakers-shot-journalists-arizona-rally/","name":"Trump Says Leakers ‘Should Be Shot’ and Rails Against Media at Rally"}}]}] ```