Trump has long warned of a government ‘deep state.’ Now in power, he’s under pressure to expose it
By ALI SWENSON Associated Press NEW YORK AP As he crisscrossed the country in Donald Trump pledged to supporters that voting him back into the presidency would be our final battle With you at my side we will demolish the deep state he announced repeatedly on the campaign trail We will liberate our country from these tyrants and villains once and for all Four months into his second term Trump has continued to stoke dark theories involving his predecessors and other powerful politicians and attorneys largest part in the past few days raising the specter of nefarious intent behind former President Joe Biden s use of an autopen to sign papers The administration has pledged to reopen investigations and has taken strategies to declassify certain documents including releasing more than pages of records related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy Yet a multitude of of Trump s supporters say it s not enough A few who take him at his word are beginning to get restless as they ask why his administration which holds the keys to chasing down these alleged ruling body secrets is denying them the evidence and retribution they expected His Justice Department has not yet arrested hordes of deep state actors as certain of his supporters had hoped it would even as the president has been posting cryptic videos and memes about Democratic politicians People are tired of not knowing conservative commentator Damani Felder commented on podcaster Tim Pool s show last week We truly demand answers and real transparency It s not that hard to deliver A promise to reveal and dismantle the deep state Trump has long promised to dismantle the deep state a supposed secret setup of powerful people manipulating ruling body decisions behind the scenes to build his base of endorsement commented Yotam Ophir a communications professor at the University at Buffalo He built part of this universe which at the end of the day is a fictional universe he declared Now that Trump is in power and has stocked loyalists throughout his administration his supporters expect all to be revealed Delivering on that is complicated when a great number of of the conspiracies he alleged aren t real explained Joseph Uscinski a political scientist who studies conspiracy theories at the University of Miami To be sure the president has prioritized retribution in his second administration He has fired federal workers installed loyalists in key positions and targeted law firms he disfavors in executive orders He has ordered the revocation of establishment precaution clearances for political rivals and former employees who dissented during his first term His Justice Department has fired prosecutors who investigated him and scrutinized career FBI agents who investigated the Jan attack on the U S Capitol Even so Trump s administration hasn t gone as far as a multitude of of his supporters would like They want to see strategies taken against people he has long claimed were involved in sinister plots against him such as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey The administration also hasn t offered proof of the egregious crimes that Trump proposes have corrupted the federal regime for years Conspiracy theorists focus on Epstein and Trump s assassination attempt Tensions erupted this month when FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino dismissed two of the unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that have animated Trump s base the majority that financier and sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in a cover-up and that Trump s attempted assassination in Butler Pennsylvania was a regime plot FILE Daniel Bongino speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill June in Washington Michael Reynolds Pool via AP File You know a suicide when you see one and that s what that was Patel revealed about Epstein s death in a Fox News interview I have seen the whole file Bongino added He killed himself Conservatives online demanded to see the evidence pointing to Bongino s past statements as a podcast host when he suggested the administration was hiding information about Epstein No matter who gets elected you get the same foreign strategy you get the same economic program and the Epstein videos remain secret right-wing podcaster and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson revealed on his show They stated us for months leading up to the Voting that it wasn t suicide Newsmax host Todd Starnes wrote on X But now they tell us it was suicide He added Pardon me but what the heck is going on at DOJ Attorney General Pam Bondi disclosed this month that FBI representatives were poring through tens of thousands of videos related to Epstein and would make more materials constituents once they took procedures to protect the sufferers Attorney General Pam Bondi right and FBI Director Kash Patel speak during a news conference at the Department of Justice Wednesday May in Washington AP Photo Alex Brandon In the same Fox News interview Bongino and Patel declared they had been briefed on the attempted assassination of Trump during a rally in July and there was no explosive conspiracy to be revealed In chosen of these cases the there you re looking for is not there Bongino stated Skepticism among deep state believers Bongino appeared to try to throw a bone to Trump s base this week when he broadcasted the agency would reopen several prominent cases that have attracted citizens interest He reported the FBI would investigate the planting of pipe bombs detected near the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington the day of the Jan attack the leak of the Supreme Court s Dobbs v Jackson draft opinion in that overturned the constitutional right to abortion and the discovery of cocaine in the White House in But it wasn t enough for everyone who weighed in on his X account Anything to distract from the Epstein files one user replied to his announcement No results wrote another In an interview Thursday on Fox Friends Bongino teased that the FBI would soon release video captured outside Epstein s jail cell and materials related to Trump s attempted assassination He revealed he understands the general s demands for transparency but called for patience and noted not all information is the FBI s to declassify That didn t satisfy everyone who wants answers to the conspiracy theories I am convinced that the deep state can only be defeated by God at this point Philip Anderson a right-wing influencer who participated in the riot at the Capitol wrote Thursday on X Kash Patel Dan Bongino and Pam Bondi are comprehensively useless Promoting conspiracy theories as a tactic to distract All the while Trump has continued promoting conspiracy theories on his Truth Social platform and elsewhere Related Articles Trump s big plans on exchange and more run up against laws of political gravity separation of powers Elon Musk came to Washington wielding a chain saw He leaves behind upheaval and unmet expectations What to know about onetime Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover whose federal sentence Trump commuted Already numb to tariff twists US importers see legal decisions as another price of doing business Trump suffered mental anguish from disputed CBS News interview with Harris lawyer says He shared a video this month about mysterious deaths allegedly being linked to the Clinton family and shared someone s image of himself with former President Barack Obama with the text ALL ROADS LEAD TO OBAMA RETRUTH IF YOU WANT MILITARY TRIBUNALS Ophir the University at Buffalo professor reported it s a tactic that distracts Trump s base and helps inoculate him from criticism When something good happens it s because Trump is great and his agenda is brilliant Ophir noted When something bad happens it s because of the Obamas or the Clintons or whatever forces are undermining him from within Washington Trump this week fueled newer theories without sharing evidence that Biden s use of a mechanical device called an autopen during his presidency meant he didn t sign his executive orders willingly or that aides profited from controlling it He has called for people who operated it to be charged with TREASON The narrative has gained momentum on the right because of accusations that Biden s aides covered up his mental and physical decline Presidents have used autopens for years to sign certain documents Whoever used it was usurping the power of the Presidency and it should be very easy to find out who that person or persons is Trump wrote on Truth Social At least one user of his platform was unimpressed and questioned why Trump and his allies holding all the power still didn t have any answers IF IT S EASY the commenter posted WHY HASN T YOUR ADMINISTRATION ASCERTAINED THESE CRIMINAL S ALREADY The Associated Press receives backing from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy See more about the AP s democracy 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