The US president uses Twitter to communicate with his supporters. Though Trump’s aides want him to stop, he reportedly just doesn’t listen. But Trump’s supporters and journalists are not the only ones following his Twitter profile. His impulsive tweets are a “goldmine” for foreign spies
Intelligence goldmine
Former CIA analyst Nada Bakos, in an article in The Washington Post, says intelligence agencies never had such a rich source of raw intelligence about a world leader. Bakos adds that Trump’s tweets give an insight for adversaries to analyse the president’s habits and personality
Did Saudi analyse @realDonaldTrump?
After former FBI boss James Comey testified on the Trump campaign’s ties with Russia, the president tweeted calling Comey a “leaker”. Trump often puts out strong tweets in reaction to criticism or news coverage. Bakos says this shows that he lacks impulse control. And a review of his old tweets show how he loves flattery
This would give governments a chance to influence Trump by writing articles praising him. And this is what Saudi Arabia did. During Trump’s recent visit to the authoritarian state, many Saudi newspapers wrote articles praising Melania. The country even had billboards to welcome—and flatter—Trump
When does he sleep?
The timestamps on Trump’s tweets would reveal his sleeping pattern, allowing foreign organisations to plan their media coverage
Russian angle
The president also reveals how sensitive he is about the investigation into Russia’s meddling into the campaign. And “an adversary could devise a plan to exploit that sensitivity”, Bakos notes. To appeal to Trump, they could intentionally disparage the investigation. Russia, for example has been mocking this investigation and President Putin sarcastically offered political asylum for Comey