President Trump asks "sophisticated questions" during his daily intelligence briefings and often remembers details he learned weeks or months prior, CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Tuesday.
"I have seen 25-year intelligence professionals receive briefings," Pompeo said during an event at the American Enterprise Institute. "I would tell you that President Trump is the kind of recipient of our information at the same level that they are."
Pompeo, who said he delivers Trump an intelligence briefing nearly every day, pushed back on reports that Trump struggles to absorb information provided to him by the intelligence community.
"The president asks hard questions. He's deeply engaged. We'll have [a] rambunctious back and forth," Pompeo said.
The former Republican congressman described a past briefing in which Trump demonstrated a deep interest in a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
"The president was very concerned about the humanitarian issues taking place in Yemen," Pompeo said. "And he kept pushing us about what was really taking place ... and what was possible given the configuration of forces on the ground."
Trump pressed for information until he had enough to decide "which of our friends to call" for assistance in alleviating the crisis, Pompeo said.
The White House ultimately weighed in on the situation in late November, when officials published a statement praising Saudi Arabia for allowing humanitarian aid to enter Yemen via sea and air. Saudi Arabia had blocked the shipment of aid to Yemen for nearly two years, exacerbating mass starvation in the impoverished country.
Pompeo said the presidential briefings he oversees typically include a mix of urgent events that have unfolded within the past several days, preparation for upcoming events such as trips or meetings with foreign leaders, and "knowledge building" through discussions of "strategic items" that have more long-term implications.
"I'm there, [national security adviser] Gen. [H.R.] McMaster is there, Director [of National Intelligence Dan] Coats is there. I have a professional briefer with me as well," Pompeo said of the typical daily briefing. "[The] vice president is there when he's in town. That's the gang that's usually there before the president."
Trump frequently cites details from past briefings during National Security Council meetings, Pompeo said.
"He'll bring up something that I briefed him on weeks or months ago," Pompeo said of NSC meetings. "It's not simply the case that this is an exercise. He's using it, he's taking it on board."
