President Donald Trump said that "leakers should be shot" while discussing disclosures about the timing of military attacks, according to a clip CNN aired on October 15. Correspondent Alayna Treene dated the remarks to his campaign travel on October 14.
Trump described someone revealing when the United States would attack another country. He portrayed such an attack as defensive, arguing it would prevent that country from obtaining a weapon capable of killing millions of people. He then called for severe treatment of leakers.
The remarks expressed Trump's view of punishment; the clip did not announce an execution order or identify a person facing a charge.
