There is a “deep state” of government bureaucrats who regularly disrupt the commander in chief’s plans, former President Donald Trump said in a recent interview.
In talking with popular conservative commentator Dan Bongino, Trump opened up about how officials within his own administration create roadblocks for his agenda and put blame on recommendations he received from “RINOS,” or Republicans in Name Only, a pejorative often used to criticize fellow members of the GOP.
“Look, there is a deep state,” Trump said. “There is a group of people that are not doing a very good job for the country.”
The conversation was framed around a report by Axios journalist Jonathan Swan, who reported how Trump’s allies want to “radically reshape” the federal government if Trump is elected to another term as president. This includes trimming parts of the Justice Department, the State Department, and Pentagon, sources told the news outlet.
Trump called it a lengthy and “strange story,” distancing himself from it while also noting that many of the ideas outlined in the report were “not bad.”
Beyond leaks, Trump said these officials would “slow walk things” while telling him they were working to complete whatever task was assigned to them and sometimes these people were those “who you would least suspect.” Trump said this “happened to all” presidents, and he called the White House a “very unusual place.”
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Trump has all but announced a third run for the White House, and looking ahead he argued the “most important thing is personnel.” Trump stressed he had “great people” in his administration, and pinned the “bad ones” on recommendations he got from “RINOS” and other people. The longtime businessman also said “that could be handled,” a nod perhaps to his future political ambitions.
As for dealing with cases of “deep” frustration, Trump described the situation as being akin to “hitting your head against a wall.” However, Trump said he had accomplishments that “nobody thought could be done despite this.”
