US President Donald Trump has revoked security clearance for his predecessor President Joe Biden, thereby stopping the latter from receiving classified briefings in a seeming tit-for-tat for his own 2021 rebuff.
"There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information," President Trump wrote on Friday on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns.
"Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden's Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings."
President Trump explained his reasons right away.
"He set this precedent in 2021 when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents."
"The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from "poor memory" and, even in his "prime", could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security," he wrote further, referring to US Attorney Robert Hur's damaging 2024 investigation report on Biden's handling of classified documents.
"JOE, YOU'RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
US Presidents still get classified briefing, but very much at a far reduced frequency from their days in the White House and mostly need-based when sought by them before foreign strips, speeches dealing with foreign policy and relations, or interactions with foreign leaders.
President Biden revoked his predecessor President Trump's security clearance or these briefings shortly after he became president in 2021 because the latter was involved with the January 7 attack on the US Capitol so as not to let a joint sitting of the US Congress certify Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
"What value is there in giving him an intelligence briefing," Biden had said while speaking with CBS News.
Trump had a very cold relationship with his predecessors, both Democratic and Republican. However, he did not revoke the security clearances of former President Barack Obama.
The Trump administration has revoked the security clearances of dozens of critics and rivals since inaugurating President Donald Trump on January 20.
They include Mark Milley, a retired army general who privately described the Republican as "fascist to the core", and more than 50 former Intelligence officials who signed a letter that wrongly suggested that emails from Hunter Biden's laptop were part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Trump has also withdrawn the security details of former colleagues who have fallen out of his favor, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser John Bolton.
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