Before Donald Trump became the “tinpot despot with shredded wheat for hair” that we see today, he was just another failing businessman trying to survive by pitching milkshakes to top intelligence and defense officials when he got bored in the middle of intelligence briefings.
According to Politico, in the middle of an August 2017 briefing at his golf Club in New Jersey with senior defense and intelligence officials on Afghanistan, Trump suddenly developed a craving for malted milkshakes.
“Does anybody want a malt?” Trump asked. “We have the best malts you have to try them.”
Trump then summoned a waiter into the room where code word classified intelligence was being discussed.
The entire incident—which in retrospect seems like small potatoes compared to what Trump is doing now to the intelligence community—was demoralizing to intelligence officials at the time.
But, they managed to overcome Trump’s boredom with intelligence briefs by including charts and pictures to hold his attention.
Trump has developed a reputation as a president who does not read intel reports. His failure to do so led to the deaths over of 220,000 Americans from the coronavirus. Intelligence officials warned Trump about the dangers of the virus early in 2020 but he ignored these warnings and publicly downplayed the virus.
