In a recent development that has stirred the political landscape, former U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to retract President Joe Biden’s security clearance and his entitlement to daily intelligence briefings. As it goes, history seems to repeat itself: Trump’s action mirrors what Biden enacted upon taking office, altering the traditional courtesies extended to former presidents.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to announce his decision. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” he typed succinctly among lines that echoed his infamous catchphrase from reality TV: “JOE, YOU’RE FIRED.”
Interestingly, this isn’t Trump’s first move against perceived partisanship within the intelligence community. Back in 2020, he rescinded security access for over fifty former intelligence officials who, in his view, manipulated the political arena to Biden’s favor.
Reflecting on Biden’s actions from 2021, Trump wrote: “Biden set this precedent when he instructed the Intelligence Community to bar me, the 45th President, from accessing National Security details—a customary privilege for ex-presidents.” One could say Trump took a leaf out of Biden’s own book, crafting his reasons with an ironic nod to perceived historical oversight.
The rationale Trump offers is based on doubts about Biden’s reliability with sensitive data, pointing to a Department of Justice inquiry into Biden’s mishandling of classified files. Though this investigation concluded without criminal charges, questions about Biden’s cognitive lapses—such as the timeline regarding his son Beau’s death and his tenure as vice-president—were raised but curiously unheeded by the Democratic leader back then.
Trump’s decision stands unchallenged so far. Following his withdrawal from the public eye last month, Biden has not addressed Trump’s declaration, nor has his newly signed talent agency responded to queries about this unexpected political maneuver.
The controversy harks back to 2021, when Biden became the first to deny a former president—Trump—access to intelligence briefings, citing Trump’s so-called “erratic behavior” as a risk, especially in light of the January 6 Capitol riots. Biden justified his stance, asking rhetorically, “What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than
