Trump got bored, ordered milkshakes during one of his first Afghanistan intelligence briefings: Report
President Trump, during one of his first intelligence briefings about Afghanistan, got bored and decided to order some milkshakes, reports state. The president halted the meeting, which was being held at his New Jersey golf course, and called a waiter into the room to order some "malts," a Politico report has stated.
Trump, during the highly-classified meeting, asked: "Does anyone want a malt? We have the best malts. You have to try them." Among the officials present at the meeting were the head of the CIA’s Special Activities Center, which is responsible for covert and paramilitary operations. Reports state that the officials were midway through their presentation when the president interrupted them. Three former officials said that within the CIA, the incident became infamous as “the malt episode."
The officials, on conditions of anonymity, told Politico that it was seen as “an early harbinger of Trump’s disinterest in intelligence." This is not the first instance of the president's reported disinterest during an intelligence briefing, it was reported in his early years of presidency that the Republican does not prefer to read his daily intelligence briefings. He also received widespread criticism this summer after a report in the New York Times claimed that he had failed to act after receiving intelligence that Russia had offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to kill American troops. The White House, however, denied that report, claiming that Trump never received a briefing about the alleged bounties despite multiple reports stating otherwise.
Intelligence officials, early this year, had repeatedly warned the president of the threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Republican ignored the officials and continued to downplay the deadly virus to Americans. Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton, while talking to Business Insider, said: "The president didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear bad news about his friend Xi Jinping — he didn't want to hear about the Chinese coverup about what was actually happening with the virus in China." He added that the president "didn't want to hear that this disease could be so threatening that it could impair the US economy significantly and therefore his ticket to reelection."
Trump, during an appearance on Fox & Friends on Tuesday, October 20, was asked if he wanted to tell the audience what his favorite flavor of milkshake was. The question was asked of Trump during a discussion on the president's claims that his political rival Joe Biden gets asked simple questions during interviews.
One of the hosts, during the segment, asked: "So, after a 40-minute interview and — I don't know — two dozens questions, do you want to tell us what your favorite milkshake flavor is?" The president responded to the question with: "I would, but, in about a year or two when everything is so perfect, I'm gonna let you... ask me that question, and I'm going to give you the nicest answer." Trump then proceeded to present an extensive explanation on why it was unfair that his Democratic challenger gets easy questions.