Trump tells Arizona rally that 'leakers should be shot'
The president lashed out at those he said leaked details of the 2025 strike on Iran and said reporters are "almost as bad" as leakers.
Archive image · Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
President Donald Trump told a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, that people who leak sensitive military information should be shot. "Somebody leaked, some sleazebag. They ought to go to jail and be shot," Trump said. "In my opinion, leakers should be shot. In the old days, we used to shoot leakers." He also called them "the scum of the earth." The Hill reported that he appeared to be referring to Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"They leaked that we were leaving at 12:07 from Missouri," Trump said, adding that the leak forced a two-day delay. He said reporters were "almost as bad as a leaker" because they "leak false information" and "make up a lot of their sources." Trump has previously said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, CBS News reported. The reports cited included no reactions from lawmakers or media organizations.