World

'JOE, YOU'RE FIRED': Trump strips Biden’s security clearance

US president says reason behind decision was because Biden removed his own security clearance after 2020 election

By AFP

February 08, 2025

US President Donald J. Trump and former president Joe Biden attend the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States takes place inside the Capitol Rotunda of the US Capitol building in Washington, DC, Monday, January 20, 2025. — Reuters

United States President Donald Trump said on Friday that he was revoking former president Joe Biden's security clearance, effectively ending his predecessor's right to receive intelligence briefings after leaving office.

"There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information," Trump said on his social media network, Truth Social.

"Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden's Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings."

Trump, 78, referenced his famous catchphrase from the former reality TV show, "The Apprentice," to announce his move on social media as he wrote: "JOE, YOU'RE FIRED."

US presidents are traditionally given the right to receive intelligence briefings even after they step down.

Trump said he was making the move because Democrat Biden had removed his own security clearance after winning the 2020 election.

Biden at the time cited Trump's "erratic behavior" both before and after the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by protesters trying to overturn Trump's election loss.

In his post on Friday, Trump claimed that Biden "could not be trusted" with intelligence briefings because a special counsel's report into classified documents found at the Democrat's home found that Biden, 82, suffered from "poor memory."

Trump was also prosecuted for mishandling classified documents but the Justice Department ended the case after the Republican won the 2024 election.