Donald Trump gets his first intelligence briefing

Donald Trump on Wednesday received his first classified intelligence briefing, a privilege reserved for presidential candidates from the two main political parties.

The Republican nominee attended the briefing — organised by the office of the director of national intelligence — in secure rooms of the FBI’s New York office, ABC television reported. Democrat Hillary Clinton will receive her briefings separately.

The sessions — designed to prepare candidates for the nation’s highest office in the event they win November’s general election — provide information about global threats against the United States.

However, Mr Trump received no information about intelligence operations or espionage, NBC reported.

Two of his leading advisors, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and retired general Michael Flynn also took part.

During an interview with Fox News broadcast late Wednesday, Mr Trump said he had scant trust in the United States intelligence community delivering Wednesd-ay’s briefings.

“Not so much from the people that have been doing it for our country. Look what’s happened over the last 10 years. Look what’s happened over the years. It’s been catastrophic,” he said.

He added that he was unlikely to install some members of the existing security establishment in his presidential administration.

“Very easy to use them. But I won’t use them because they've made such bad decisions,” Mr Trump said.

Democrats have raised concerns about whether Mr Trump is fit to receive classified information, including President Barack Obama, who issued a thinly-veiled warning at a news conference earlier this month.

“If they want to be President, they have got to start acting like (a) President,” he said.