President Donald Trump refuses to allow security features to be added to his cell phones, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Two administration officials told Politico that Trump thinks having security features that could shield his communications and prevent hacking and enabled on his phones would be "too inconvenient," despite the urging of White House aides that he should swap out the devices on a monthly basis.
According to Politico, Trump uses two iPhones—one for the bulk of his personal communications, the other for reading news and using Twitter.
"Due to inherent capabilities and advancement in technologies, these devices are more secure than any Obama-era devices," one official told Politico. Another senior White House staffer said Trump's call-enabled phones "are seamlessly swapped out on a regular basis through routine support operations. Because of the security controls of the Twitter phone and the Twitter account, it does not necessitate regular change-out."
Of course, Trump is exhibiting the same type of behavior of which he accused his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, of doing during her time as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama. The FBI's investigation of her use of a private email server overshadowed most of the pressing issues during the 2016 presidential campaign, including when former FBI Director James Comey announced in October of that year that the probe was being reopened. Clinton has blamed her election loss, at least in part, on Comey's announcement. Comey later wrote in his memoirs that the idea that he swayed the election "sickened" him.
As is widely known, no criminal activity by Clinton was found, and no charges were ever filed against anyone at state or within Clinton's inner circle. Nevertheless, Trump made "Hillary's emails" a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. "Her server was easily hacked by foreign governments, perhaps even by her financial backers in communist China — sure they have it — putting all of America and our citizens in danger, great danger," he said in June 2016. All of these claims by candidate Trump were and are completely untrue. In fact, Trump actually called on Russia to hack and release emails from the Democratic National Committee, which Wikileaks fed to the press that summer.
Trump also referred to Clinton as "the most corrupt person ever to run for president," rousing crowds of supporters who regularly chanted "lock her up." Trump's dizzying display of hypocrisy is but the latest in the president's habit of accusing others of what he himself may be guilty, including but not limited to: colluding with Russia during the 2016 campaign; spying on his campaign; leaking national security secrets; and using unsecured means of communication when dealing with materials pertaining to national security.
Twitter shared its thought on the story, and the president's double-standard certainly didn't go unnoticed.
@jimmyfallon/Instagram