Late last week, The New York Times published an extraordinary report on a top secret mission in which a group of Navy SEALs tried to infiltrate North Korea in 2019, in the hopes of planting an electronic surveillance device. The risks were enormous, which is why the mission required the president’s direct approval, which Donald Trump, three years into his first term, granted.
According to the Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, the covert undertaking was “so complex and consequential that everything had to go exactly right.” But as the reporting makes clear, everything did not go exactly right; the surveillance technology did not reach its target; and Navy SEALs ended up killing three unarmed North Korean civilians.
The Times added, “The Trump administration did not notify key members of Congress who oversee intelligence operations, before or after the mission.”
That lack of notification might have violated the law.
Shortly after the news reached the public, a reporter asked Trump about the revelations. A separate Times report added:
Trump said he didn’t ‘know anything about’ a failed top-secret mission in 2019 to intercept communication in North Korea, which was revealed in a New York Times investigation on Friday. ‘I could look but I know nothing about it,’ Trump said. ‘I don’t know anything about it. I’m hearing about it for the first time.’
As part of that exchange, the president hedged when asked whether he could confirm the mission actually happened.
Q: Can you say if the administration has engaged with North Korea on that incident?TRUMP: I don't know anything about itQ: Can you confirm that it happened?TRUMP: I'm hearing it now for the first time(Trump reportedly approved the botched operation)
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-09-05T20:37:50.014Z
I’m not in a position to say with confidence whether Trump is lying about this. Given his track record, it’s easy to believe the Republican’s denial wasn’t true, but it’s also possible that he personally approved a profoundly complicated and dangerous mission six years ago, which failed and produced deadly consequences, and then forgot about it.
But as the public comes to terms with the news, it’s worth appreciating the frequency with which the president appears clueless about the events unfolding around him.
At a White House event in July, for example, a reporter noted the Trump administration had paused a shipment of military aid intended for Ukraine a week earlier. Asked who approved this, the president replied, “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”
In May, during a Q&A with a White House press pool, Trump was asked about his administration’s new student visa policy, and he responded in a way that suggested he had no idea what the reporter was talking about.
Weeks earlier, less than 24 hours after he nominated Dr. Casey Means to serve as the nation’s next surgeon general, the president conceded that he didn’t know Casey Means.
The day before that, amid reports that the administration was planning to expand its deportations agenda to Libya, Trump was pressed on the policy. “I don’t know,” he responded. “You’ll have to ask the Department of Homeland Security.”
The same week, NBC News aired Trump’s appearance on “Meet the Press,” and when host Kristen Welker asked whether everyone in the United States is entitled to due process, the president replied, “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.” When Welker reminded her guest about the Fifth Amendment, Trump again said, “I don’t know.”
As part of the same exchange, Welker went on to say, “[D]on’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as president?” Once again, Trump answered, “I don’t know.”
As the interview continued, the host asked whether anyone in his administration had been in contact with El Salvador about returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. “I don’t know,” the president said. “You’d have to ask the attorney general that question.”
Around the same time, during a White House meeting with members of the World Cup task force, a reporter asked Trump about the ban on Russia competing in next year’s FIFA World Cup tournament. “I didn’t know that. Is that right?” Trump responded.
A day later, fielding questions in the Oval Office, Trump was asked whether he agreed with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments about possible tariff exemptions for certain family consumer goods. “I don’t know, I’ll think about it,” the president said. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”
Around the same time, a reporter reminded Trump that Vice President JD Vance said Russia was asking for too much to end the war in Ukraine. “When did he say that?” the president asked. Reminded that the vice president had made the comments hours earlier, Trump added, “Well, it’s possible that’s right. He may know some things.”
In case that weren’t quite enough, at the same Q&A, Trump also said he had no idea that Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had announced his opposition to Ed Martin’s U.S. attorney nomination a day earlier.
In April, Time magazine asked Trump how much the U.S. government is paying El Salvador to imprison immigrants. “I don’t know,” the president responded. Asked if he approved the payments, the Republican added, “No, I didn’t.” A month earlier, Trump was asked about four U.S. soldiers who’d gone missing during a NATO training exercise in Lithuania, and the president was clueless. Asked about the apparent assassination of a Russian general, Trump again had no idea what the reporter was talking about. When the Republican was asked about the Signal group chat scandal and whether he believed classified information was shared, he replied, “I don’t know. I’m not sure, you have to ask the various people involved.” These weren’t trick questions. No one appeared to be trying to trip up the president with unexpected inquiries about obscure topics. In all of these instances, Trump should’ve been able to respond to the questions with substantive responses. But he didn’t. Instead, the Republican effectively said, over and over again, “Don’t look at me, I just work here.” Five years ago, as the severity of the pandemic came into focus, the New York Times published a memorable analysis that included a word to describe Trump that stood out to me as significant — “bystander.” “While he presents himself as the nation’s commanding figure, Mr. Trump has essentially become a bystander as school superintendents, sports commissioners, college presidents, governors and business owners across the country take it upon themselves to shut down much of American life without clear guidance from the president,” the Times wrote. A half-decade later, President Bystander has apparently returned. Trump has taken a keen interest in countless trivialities, but on substantive issues, he’s offering the public a lot of shrugged shoulders and blank stares. As for why this matters, there are a handful of angles to keep in mind. Right off the bat, in a great many instances in recent months Trump has sounded a bit too much like a man who just wandered into the Oval Office. What’s more, most objective observers would probably agree that if Joe Biden had repeatedly said, “I don’t know” in response to simple questions about his own administration, it would be front-page news — and the Democrat’s responses would be played on a loop for hours on end in conservative media. Similarly, Trump has personally invested considerable time and energy in accusing Biden of having been a doddering old “autopen” president who was unaware of events unfolding around him. Given the frequency with which the Republican clings to “I don’t know” responses, he should probably consider a new line of attack. Finally, let’s not forget that Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are rooted, at least in part, in the idea that governmental power must be concentrated in the president’s hands, to be executed as he sees fit. It makes Trump’s apparent cluelessness that much more alarming. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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