<p class="wp-block-paragraph">President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that government officials who leak information to the media “should be shot.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The president made these remarks during a campaign rally near the Arizona-Nevada border in support of Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) and other Republican candidates, marking the second stop on his 2026 campaign tour across western states.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the rally, Trump defended the ongoing conflict in Iran and referenced last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, a military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities, while criticizing media coverage of the campaign.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Somebody leaked, some sleaze bag,” he said regarding sources within the government who provide information to the media. “They ought to go to jail, or be shot. For the rest of their life, they should be in jail.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump reiterated his stance on leakers shortly thereafter, stating, “Leakers should be, in my opinion, leakers should be shot. They should be shot.” He added, “In the old days, we used to shoot leakers. You know, when they leak what time you’re going to attack a country, and the reason you’re attacking is really for defense, because you don’t want them to have a weapon that can blow up millions of people at one shot.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Now, leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly. They’re really to me — they’re the scum of the earth,” Trump said. “The leakers are the scum of the earth.”</p>