Trump says people who leak military secrets 'should be shot'

At an October 14, 2026 campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, Donald Trump declared that government officials who leak sensitive military secrets 'should be shot.' Trump cited an alleged leak to news outlets that forced him to briefly delay the June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer strikes against Iran. The rhetoric aligns with broader administrative crackdowns, including polygraph tests for Joint Staff members, a joint Pentagon-DOJ prosecution task force, and the scheduled December 3, 2026 firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.

Trump's October 2026 rally remarks on leakers

• ▪Donald Trump stated at his October 14, 2026 rally that two days after canceling the initial Operation Midnight Hammer raid, he ordered the same Operation Midnight Hammer B-2 bomber strike on Iran to proceed using the exact same departure time
• ▪During an October 14, 2026 campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, Donald Trump stated that government workers who leak sensitive military information to the media 'should be shot'
• ▪Donald Trump alleged at his October 14, 2026 rally that a leak to The New York Times and CNN regarding B-2 bomber departure times from Missouri forced him to temporarily call off the June 2025 Operation Midnight Hammer strikes against Iran
• ▪At the Bullhead City, Arizona rally on October 14, 2026, Donald Trump described leakers of military information as 'the scum of the earth' and stated they should be in jail for the rest of their lives
• ▪Donald Trump claimed at an October 14, 2026 rally that news outlets reporting false information are 'almost as bad as a leaker'

Past rhetoric on government leakers

• ▪Upon taking office during his first presidential term, Donald Trump promised to catch 'low-life leakers' who provided the news media with information regarding his administration's ties to Russia
• ▪Former White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin stated in a 2024 podcast that Donald Trump previously called for executing staff members who leaked information to the press during his first presidential term

Planned execution of Nidal Hasan

• ▪Donald Trump authorized the military firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, scheduled for December 3, 2026
• ▪Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to livestream Nidal Hasan's December 3, 2026 military firing squad execution, though Donald Trump indicated the broadcast decision remains subject to change