Oct. 14, 2026, 7:04 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said individuals in government who leak sensitive defense information to the media “should be shot” as he discussed calling off a military raid in Iran after plans for the attack were leaked to news outlets.
“In my opinion, leakers should be shot,” Trump said during a midterm campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona. “In the old days, we used to shoot leakers.”
Trump said Iran’s military was “waiting for” American troops ahead of a planned U.S. operation, alleging The New York Times and CNN reported on leaked information about what time U.S. troops were leaving and arriving. Trump said he rescheduled the attack for two days later.
“Somebody leaked, some sleazebag,” Trump said. “They ought to go to jail and be shot.”
Trump appeared to be referencing the “Operation Midnight Hammer” attack on Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, but he did not specify.
Trump, who has long clashed with the media, threatened to sue the New York Times and CNN in 2025 for reporting on a preliminary intelligence report that contradicted his claims that Iran’s uranium enrichment sites were “completely and totally obliterated” by U.S. strikes from that operation.
“When they leak what time you’re going to attack a country, and the reason you’re attacking is really for defense, because you don’t want them to have a weapon that can blow up millions of people at one shot. No, leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly,” Trump said.
“To me, they’re the scum of the earth. The leakers are the scum of the earth,” he added.
Minutes later in his speech, Trump shifted his remarks from leakers to reporters. “They’re almost as bad as a leaker because they leak. They leak false information ‒ that makes them a leaker ‒ oftentimes without a source.”
In August, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced the Department of War and the Justice Department created a joint task force to identify and prosecute people who share sensitive information with the media.
“Leaked information risks lives,” Hegseth said at the time. “These new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force.”
Trump last week approved a rare firing squad execution of former Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who shot and killed 13 people during a 2009 attack at Fort Hood. Hegseth said the execution will be livestreamed, but Trump has since said a final decision on making it public has not been made.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
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