Culture

What the hell is Trump trying to say about encryption?

“I think we should do some encryption... Apple has to help us. And I’m very strong on it. They have the keys to so many criminals and criminal minds, and we can do things.”

President Donald Trump, speaking to CNBC

Bloomberg/Bloomberg/Getty Images

President Trump spoke with CNBC's Joe Kernen in an interview on Squawk Box today, offering up yet another rambling masterpiece on current events. While it'd be difficult to glean any useful information from his responses, the conversation prompted some truly perplexing statements about encryption and backdoor access that just can't be ignored.

Trump took the opportunity to call Apple out for refusing to give government entities special access to its devices. Some key snippets from the transcript are to follow.

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

“I think we should — we should start finding some of the bad people out there that we can do with Apple [sic]. I think it’s very important. Frankly, I’ve helped them a lot. I’ve given them waivers, because I want them — it’s a great company, but it made a big difference."

President Donald Trump

Bloomberg/Bloomberg/Getty Images