The former director of National Intelligence says President Trump chooses to receive intelligence "on a selective basis."

James Clapper on Thursday told CNN that Trump accepts intelligence about countries he doesn't like, but won't do the same when the subject of intel is Russia.

"I think he likes intelligence on a selective basis," he said. "He seems to accept the intelligence on Korea, or on Syria, on China, on other areas, on terrorism, but when it comes to Russia, not so much."

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Clapper made derisive reference to Trump's January tweet comparing the intelligence community to "Nazi Germany," suggesting the president should trust the intelligence team that he has installed since being inaugurated.

"I honestly thought that his assessment of the intelligence community would improve once he got rid of the two 'Nazis,' the two principal 'Nazis,' meaning John Brennan and myself," he said, referring to the former CIA director.

"Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to 'leak' into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?" Trump tweeted in January.

Trump has escalated his rhetoric about North Korea this week, threatening "fire and fury" against the nation after reports that North Korea now has a missile-ready nuclear weapon.