“He's very unconventional, and, you know, and you're just not quite sure which Donald Trump is going to walk into the Oval Office," Panetta said. | AP Photo Panetta to Trump: You need to be informed

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday that having good advisers isn’t enough to succeed in the Oval Office.

“That's not good enough. The reality is: It is the president of the United States who has to make the final decision,” Panetta said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”


“And you can have a lot of bright people and they can present you a lot of options. But unless you’ve taken the time as president to understand those issues, to read into those issues, to understand the consequences of those issues, you cannot just rely on others to tell you what you should or shouldn't do,” he continued. “You've got to make the decision.”

Panetta — who is also a former CIA director, director of the Office of Management and Budget and White House chief of staff — expressed concerns over Trump’s refusal to accept daily intelligence briefings, stressing that having such briefings every once in a while isn’t enough because threats can change daily as new intelligence surfaces.

“Every president I know, and I worked under nine presidents, every one has taken their intelligence daily brief because that sets the agenda for what you have to focus on as president of the United States,” he said.

The former Pentagon chief also said he’s trying to figure out which Trump will be sworn in next month.

“He's very unconventional, and, you know, and you're just not quite sure which Donald Trump is going to walk into the Oval Office, whether it's the, you know, the reality TV, tweeting president, or whether it’s the business president who will be serious-minded about approaching it,” Panetta said. “So it’s really — it’s really difficult right now to try to get a sense of just exactly what the president-elect is going to be like.”

As Trump continues to fill out his administration, Panetta highlighted loyalty as an important trait in those the president-elect taps to play a role in the federal government but also suggested that Trump surround himself with people who will tell him the truth.

“You’ve got to be willing to tell him when you think he’s wrong and when he’s taking the wrong step. I mean, the biggest problem in the White House that I’ve experienced is that everybody’s trying to figure out what the president wants to hear and then tell the president what he wants to hear,” Panetta said.

“I suspect that, you know, a big personality like Donald Trump, you know, probably intimidates a lot of people who don’t necessarily want to look him in the eye and tell him exactly what he may not want to hear.”