Donald Trump claims he does not need daily intelligence briefings, as the president-elect reportedly receives the key reports much less frequently than his predecessors did.
"You know, I'm, like, a smart person," Trump told "Fox News Sunday." "I don't have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years. Could be eight years — but eight years. I don't need that. But I do say, 'If something should change, let us know.'"
Trump gets about one briefing per week, while Vice President-elect Mike Pence receives them several times a week, Reuters reported Friday. Past presidents-elect have often welcomed the President's Daily Brief, a highly classified document.
Trump's reluctance to take the briefings has prompted criticism from Democrats about his knowledge of key issues. Trump claimed he will get briefings when situations change but not "the same thing every day, every morning."
Former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told CNBC on Monday that Trump should listen to the classified briefings.
"That's obviously up to President-elect Trump. But I think he would be well served if he would take those briefings because there's never enough time to know as much as you need to know any of these jobs," Trump told "Squawk Box."
Intelligence briefings have taken on even more importance as Trump says he does not accept reports that the CIA concluded that Russia meddled in the election to help him win.
In a statement Friday, Trump tried to discredit the report, based on its assessments before the Iraq War. "These are the same people that said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," he said.
A bipartisan group of senators on Sunday called for a probe of Russia's role in the election.