‘Leakers should be shot’, says Trump in escalation of attacks on news-gathering

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

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Kanno-Youngs, Z. (2026, October 15). ‘Leakers should be shot’, says Trump in escalation of attacks on news-gathering. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/trump-says-those-who-leak-military-plans-should-be-shot-20261015-p615vf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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Quick Summary

During a political rally in Arizona, US President Donald Trump called for government sources who leak information about military operations to be shot, citing it as an "old days" practice and indicating approval from the audience. Trump's remarks were part of his continued attacks on those he perceives as leaking sensitive information, particularly regarding alleged plans to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. This statement marks a severe escalation in rhetoric against whistleblowers and journalists under his presidency.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-15, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

On October 14, 2026, President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, part of his midterm election push. At the event, he called for government leakers to be "shot," drawing applause from the crowd. The visit aimed to boost Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Andy Biggs against incumbent Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. During the rally, Trump also criticized media coverage of the ongoing war with Iran and warned that Democrats would "destroy our country" if elected. He made these statements while campaigning in states where Republicans typically win easily, aiming to secure support ahead of the November 8 midterms. Despite concerns among some senior House Republicans about losing the majority in the House, Trump confidently claimed he could commit a violent crime without losing his supporters' backing. These remarks reflect his ongoing tensions with media and critics. The rally was one of several held recently in Texas, Ohio, Alaska, and other key states ahead of the crucial midterm elections.

Written for “Trump Campaigns And Attacks Leakers” on 2026-10-15, grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.65, but all 3 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.

Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.

Leaning score withheld for article 81241: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-15

Story

📰 Trump Campaigns And Attacks Leakers

Politics · 14 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Trump says government ‘leakers should be shot’ same event · 100%

Washington Examiner · 0.92 cosine similarity

⚖️ Leans strongly right 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 12 📰 publisher trust 68

“Both articles describe President Trump's comments at a rally in Arizona on October 14, 2026, where he stated that leakers should be shot.”

Trump says leakers should be shot, straying from economic pitch same event · 100%

The Straits Times · 0.91 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 17% hedged 5 of 30 📰 publisher trust 60

“Both articles report on President Donald Trump's statement about executing leakers during a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on October 14, 2026.”

Trump suggests those who leak government information should ‘be shot’ same event · 100%

Al Jazeera · 0.90 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 2 of 27 📰 publisher trust 60

“Both articles describe President Trump making a speech at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on the same date where he suggested leakers should be shot.”

Trump says ‘leakers should be shot’ for exposing military secrets same event · 100%

New York Post · 0.90 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67

“Both articles report on President Trump's speech at a rally in Arizona on October 15, 2026, where he called for leakers to be shot.”

Trump says government officials who leak to the media ‘should be shot’ same event · 100%

NBC News · 0.89 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 23 📰 publisher trust 95

“Both articles describe President Donald Trump making a statement at a campaign rally on October 15, 2026, where he said leakers should be shot.”

Trump unleashes chilling 'leakers should be shot' call in rambling tirade about run-up to Iran strikes same event · 100%

Daily Mail · 0.86 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 64

“Both articles describe President Trump's statement about leakers at a campaign rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on the same date.”

Trump says "leakers should be shot" during Arizona rally same event · 100%

CBS News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 1 📰 publisher trust 66

“Both articles describe Trump's statement about leakers being made during a rally in Arizona on the same date.”

'Go to jail or be shot’: Trump warns US military secret leakers same event · 95%

Times of India · 0.86 cosine similarity

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 2 of 19 📰 publisher trust 59

“Both articles describe Trump's speech at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, where he threatened leakers with being shot and praised historical practices of shooting leakers.”

Trump boasts he could ‘murder someone’ and not lose MAGA faithful after saying leakers ‘should be shot’ same event · 95%

The Independent

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 19% hedged 4 of 21 📰 publisher trust 59

“Both articles describe Trump's speech at a rally in Arizona on October 15, 2026, where he specifically mentions that leakers 'should be shot', indicating the same specific incident.”

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

12%

2 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Politics

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Publisher

Who wrote this

Zolan Kanno-Youngs

1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Even for a president known for his lack of tolerance for those willing to express dissent or question his power, Trump’s endorsement of having government sources shot marked an extraordinary escalation of his attacks on news-gathering and those willing to speak to the press.

2026-10-15 · assertive framing · ‘Leakers should be shot’, says Trump in escalation of attacks on news-gathering

The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Narrative

Claims (16 extracted, 2 hedged)

US President Donald Trump said government sources who revealed information about military plans should be shot, during a grievance-filled speech at a political rally in Arizona. asserted

who → say → Arizona

“In my opinion, leakers should be shot,” Trump said on Wednesday (Phoenix time), prompting applause from the gathered crowd in Bullhead City. asserted

Trump → shoot → City

“In the old days we used to shoot leakers, you know?” asserted

you → use → leakers

Even for a president known for his lack of tolerance for those willing to express dissent or question his power, Trump’s endorsement of having government sources shot marked an extraordinary escalation of his attacks on news-gathering and those willing to speak to the press. asserted

sources → know → press

It was unclear which military operation Trump was referring to, although he appeared to be describing the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities last year. uncertain

he → refer → facilities

After describing the “totally stealth” B-2 bombers that dropped “very large bombs” on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025, Trump claimed that someone had tipped off the news media that the United States was preparing to launch an attack. asserted

States → describe → attack

“They ought to go to jail or be shot,” Trump said. asserted

Trump → go → jail

It was not the first time Trump has railed against government sources. asserted

Trump → rail → sources

When he first entered office, he promised to catch the “low-life leakers” who provided the news media with information about his administration’s ties to Russia. asserted

who → enter → Russia

Alyssa Farah Griffin, a White House official in Trump’s first term, told a Mediaite podcast that she had heard Trump talk about how a staff member who leaked should be executed. asserted

who → tell → podcast

Trump campaigned on restoring use of the federal death penalty after the Biden administration imposed a moratorium on the practice. asserted

administration → campaign → practice

This month, he approved the first legally sanctioned public execution in America since 1936, clearing the way for Nidal Malik Hasan to be killed by firing squad on December 3. asserted

Hasan → approve → December

His administration announced that the execution of Hasan, an army psychiatrist who gunned down 13 of his fellow soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed. asserted

who → announce → 2009

Trump later said that he had “absolutely” agreed to the idea, but added that the plan could change. uncertain

plan → say → idea

This article originally appeared in The New York Times. asserted

article → appear → Times

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. asserted

what → get → world