Donald Trump treated classified information as his “own shiny toy”. Entertainment news

Donald Trump treated classified information like his “own shiny toy”, his former White House press secretary claims.

Stephanie Grisham has hit back as Trump supporters continue to allege the former US president mishandled classified material by storing it at his Mar-a-Lago resort after his term ended.

Ms. Grisham told The Associated Press that her former boss was “careless” with classified material while in office and “never seemed to bother himself why it was bad.”

She also recalled the time Trump wanted to show Conan, the dog who played a key role in the assassination of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Ms. Grisham, who left her post as Trump administration chief after the riots on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, said staffers were told the photos could put Conan staff at risk.

But when the animal arrived, Trump wanted the autopsy to be about the dog.

Ms Grisham said: “Because he wanted publicity, Conan left. It’s an example of how he didn’t care when he put lives in danger… it was like it was his own shiny toy that he was showing off to his friends to impress them.”

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said he repeatedly tried to explain the significance of the disclosure to Trump.

He added: “I don’t think any of it has sunk in. He didn’t seem to appreciate how sensitive it was, how dangerous it was for some of our people and the risks they might be exposed to.

“I would say over and over again, ‘It’s very sensitive, very sensitive.’ And he’d say, ‘I know,’ and then he’d go and do it anyway.”

Trump’s £133m Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided at 6.30am on August 8 by FBI agents who reportedly searched for nuclear documents before removing boxes, including those that were marked as top secret.

The 76-year-old former president called for the release of documents related to the search, which he called “un-American, unwarranted and unnecessary.”

Authorities say that amid outrage from Trump supporters over the search, there is a growing wave of threats against government agencies, including talk of plans to use a dirty bomb at FBI headquarters and start an “armed rebellion” and full-scale civil war.