The Associated Press states that U.S. President Donald Trump has been handing out his Cellphone Number like cookies to other World Leaders. He has also requested them to call him directly on his mobile, which apart from being an unusual presidential request also breaches several diplomatic protocols. The move by the current President – apart from drawing criticism – has also raised concerns about the secrecy and security of the President’s communications.
President Trump breaches diplomatic protocols
U.S. officials familiar with this practice confirmed that the President has already given out his cellphone number to current nation leaders of Mexico and Canada, urging them to call him directly on his mobile.
Reports of Trump having exchanged his numbers with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron is also doing rounds.
In the world of technological advancement, world leaders calling each other directly may seem like an unremarkable affair. However, in the diplomatic arena, such calls are preceded by a lot of preparedness by the leaders as well as the security personnel. The calls are generally an orchestrated affair and take place in the full confidence of the administrative staff and security department. Thus, it can be seen in that President Trump, made another notable breach in protocol by not expressing his distrust of his official channels quite openly.
However, from the beginning of his term, President Trump had quite a bit of difficulty in toeing the line when it came to security protocols.
It was reported that days after his swearing-in ceremony was conducted, the President was still using his unsecured smartphone.
White House security protocols
Prior to this bizarre request that was made by Trump, it was seen that erstwhile presidents generally made calls from one of the several secured White House phone lines.
These secured phone connections are at the behest of the President in the Oval Office, the White House Situation Room, and also the presidential limousine.
Even for argument’s sake, if Trump distributes his government-issued cellphone number, the calls made through that line would still be vulnerable to hacking and eavesdropping.
The national security experts state that the cellphone line is always susceptible to bugging from foreign governments and spies.
Trump’s current request makes him look like a hypocrite, as he was the one, who during his Presidential Campaign in 2016, severely criticized Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival, for making use of a private email server, while serving as the secretary of state. At that juncture, he wanted Clinton not to have access to any classified information given her disregard for security on national issues.
