USAupdated 3h ago2 min read
Donald Trump Says Leakers Of US Military Information Should Be Shot In Bullhead City, Arizona
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Trump at Bullhead City rally called for shooting leakers of government information. He referenced leaks about a planned U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
8 outlets told this the same way.
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Trump targets leakers
US President Donald Trump called for severe punishment for people who leak classified military information during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, and he said, "In my opinion, leakers should be shot." Trump told the crowd, "In the old days, we used to shoot leakers, you know, when they leak what time you’re going to attack a country." Trump linked his remarks to a claimed leak of operational timing for US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities carried out during Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, and he said the disclosure forced him to reschedule the bombing campaign two days later.
Trump accused The New York Times and CNN of publishing the leaked departure and arrival times, and he said, "They leaked the time we were leaving, the time we were arriving." Trump added that the leakers should face jail or be shot for the rest of their lives, saying, "For the rest of their life, they should be in jail."
Operation timing and response
Trump said he had to reschedule the operation after a leak, and he told the rally, "They leaked that we were leaving at 12:07 from Missouri."
Trump said he then changed the timing of the mission, and he recalled telling his team, "Let’s leave it exactly the same time."
Trump said he contacted Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss the implications of the disclosure, and Trump recalled Caine replying, "Not good, sir, but we can do it anyway."
Trump said he ultimately called off the raid, and he told the audience, "So I called off the raid."
Trump framed the episode as justification for imposing exceptionally harsh penalties on those responsible for leaking operational information, and he described the leakers as "the scum of the earth."
Pressure on media and policy
Trump escalated his criticism of the news media by comparing journalists to leakers, and he said, "They leak false information that makes them a leaker." Trump also said members of the media were "almost as bad," and he described them as making up sources "Oftentimes without a source." The Straits Times reported that Trump’s campaign stop in Bullhead City, Arizona, was part of a month-long campaign blitz to boost Republican candidates ahead of the Nov 3 midterm vote.
The Al Jazeera account said the White House has taken aggressive action to track down the source of leaks, and it said staff in his administration and officers in the military were asked to take polygraph tests. The Al Jazeera account also said journalists at The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal received subpoenas aimed at determining the sources of internal information made public.
