Trump would ultimately greenlight successful strikes on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Yemeni al Qaeda chief Qasim al-Rimi — perhaps the most significant names on the CIA list of potential U.S. targets.

But he was more interested in a young and less influential figure much farther down the list, according to two people familiar with the briefings, because he recognized the name.

“He would say, ‘I’ve never heard of any of these people. What about Hamza bin Laden?'” one former official said.

“That was the only name he knew,” a Pentagon official added.