Trump Says Government Leakers 'Should Be Shot' and Calls Them 'The Scum of the Earth' at Arizona Rally

Donald Trump told supporters in Arizona that people who leak sensitive military information 'should be shot', reviving a theme he has returned to repeatedly over more than a decade.

The president made the remarks at a midterm rally in Bullhead City on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, while recounting a leak he said had delayed last year's US strikes on Iran.

He described leakers as 'the scum of the earth' and said journalists covering the event were 'almost as bad'. Trump offered no new evidence about who was behind the leak he described.

'In the Old Days, We Used To Shoot Leakers'

Speaking at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, Trump said: 'In my opinion, leakers should be shot.' He added that 'in the old days, we used to shoot leakers' when they revealed the timing of attacks.

'Leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly,' he said, according to a clip shared by C-SPAN. 'To me, they're the scum of the earth.'

He then turned on the reporters at the rally. Trump said journalists were 'almost as bad' as leakers and claimed they 'leak false information', according to Time.

The Iran Raid He Says Was Delayed

Trump tied his comments to Operation Midnight Hammer, the US strikes by B-2 stealth bombers on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.

He claimed that media reports had disclosed the bombers' departure and arrival times, including a departure from Missouri at 12:07. His account does not establish what was reported or whether any disclosure affected the operation.

Trump said he initially called off the operation after learning of the leak. He recalled asking General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the disclosure and said Caine replied: 'Not good, sir, but we can do it anyway.'

Two days later, Trump said, the mission went ahead with the same departure time and caught Iranian forces off guard, The Jerusalem Post reported.

He did not present new evidence identifying the leakers or establishing how the information was disclosed. A leaked preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency assessment after the strikes suggested the Iranian sites had suffered less damage than the administration claimed. Trump and his officials disputed it at the time, and later reporting described heavier damage at some sites than others.

Trump also joked that the United States might have gone too far in killing Iranian leaders. 'I don't know who the hell to deal with,' he said. He credited the US Navy and a blockade he called a 'Wall of Steel' with securing the Strait of Hormuz, and said petrol prices would fall once the confrontation ended.

A Long Record of Remarks on Leakers

The comments echo statements Trump has made for years. In 2010, he called WikiLeaks' release of military and diplomatic documents 'disgraceful' and suggested the death penalty. After the 2013 National Security Agency leaks, he called Edward Snowden a 'spy' who 'should be executed'. In 2016, however, he praised WikiLeaks for publishing Democratic emails.

In 2017, he said leakers 'will be caught' after reports on his campaign's contacts with Russia. In 2019, he described a whistleblower whose complaint led to his first impeachment as 'close to a spy'.

His administration has pursued leaks aggressively during his second term. The Pentagon has polygraphed dozens of employees over a leak about ammunition shortages, and the FBI searched a Washington Post reporter's home in January, Time reported.

Justice Department subpoenas to reporters at The Wall Street Journal and The Post were withdrawn after pushback, and a federal judge struck down parts of the Pentagon's press access policy in March.

The rally came days after Trump authorised the firing-squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. The execution is scheduled for 3 December. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has proposed livestreaming it, and Trump has said he would make the final decision on whether the broadcast goes ahead, The Jerusalem Post reported.

A Midterm Stop in Mohave County

Bullhead City sits on the Colorado River opposite Laughlin, Nevada, in a corner of the state that has long been friendly territory for Trump. The rally took place a week into early voting in Arizona, where races for governor, attorney general and the US House are on the 3 November ballot, KTAR reported. Trump won more than 77 per cent of the vote in Mohave County in 2024.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs and Representative Paul Gosar were scheduled to speak, with Representative Abe Hamadeh and former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is running for Biggs's House seat, also expected to attend.

The Arizona stop was part of a western swing that also took Trump to Montana, NBC News reported.