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Trump Family Member Reveals Why She Will ‘Never’ Get Into Politics

While politics might run in the family, one Trump is staying far away…

President Donald Trump’s granddaughter, Kai, who is slated to play college golf next fall at the University of Miami, said she has no interest in following in her grandfather’s footsteps.

“To be honest with you, I stay out of politics completely. I would never run, I don’t want anything to do with politics,” Trump said during an appearance on Logan Paul’s podcast. “I feel like politics is such a dangerous thing, and I think if both sides met in the middle, everyone would be so much more happier.”

Trump said people have gotten “too extreme” on both sides of the coin, and social media has driven people to hone in on their beliefs.

“There’s not a lot of things on social media where you’re very much in the middle. And I think that kind of makes some people crazy and some people buy into it too much,” Trump added. “I think that’s like the best way to say it. There’s no bad blood. I’m very much in the middle and kind of like, it is what it is. They ran against each other [Trump and Kamala Harris]. Obviously, I’m gonna support my grandpa, my family member, but that’s pretty much it.”

The closest Trump has dove into the political waters was when she spoke at the Republican National Convention just days after her grandfather was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In an interview with Fox News Digital in October, Trump said she was “proud” of her grandfather after he brokered the historic ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

“Always will support him. I think he’s doing amazing things,” she said.

White Kai Trump may not be interested in politics the same can’t be said for her father, Donald Trump Jr., who has been floated as a future presidential contender. Don Jr, the eldest of the two sons Trump had with Ivana, channels his father’s combative style and is viewed by many as a bridge between Trump’s base.

The Independent reports:

Back in August, a McLaughlin & Associates survey had Vance sitting pretty at 36 per cent, with Donald Trump Jr a distant second at 16 per cent. By October, that gap had narrowed, with [VP] Vance at 38 per cent and Trump Jr at 20 per cent (Rubio was in third place at 7 per cent). Then came the November poll, which probably sent shockwaves through Vance’s inner circle: the vice president’s support had slipped to 34 per cent, while Trump Jr had surged.

“I’m a Second Amendment person, and I don’t know anything about Vance’s position on it,” says Liz Mair, veteran Republican strategist. “For a real Second Amendment voter, the only people I would truly be comfortable supporting right now would be Donald Trump Jr or Ron DeSantis. And I’d probably be more comfortable with Donald Trump Jr. It depends on each state, but for diehard gun voters, it’s a significant issue, and it was one reason Trump Sr had challenges in 2016.”

Trump Jr has played his hand with characteristic bravado, dismissing speculation in one media organisation that he intends to run. “I’m actually glad you’re printing this bulls**t,” he wrote on X, “because at least now the rest of the press corps will see how s****y your ‘sources’ are and how easily you’re played by them. Congrats, moron.”

Yet, as is often the case in this family, denials are never absolute. In May 2025, when asked at a panel in Qatar if he would “pick up the reins” after Trump leaves office, he replied: “I don’t know. Maybe one day, you know, that calling is there.” Junior wields that ambiguity like a political weapon – a constant reminder that another Trump is waiting in the wings.

Fox Host Predicts Next Top Dem to Be Axed — Once They Oust Chuck Schumer

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Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

As Democrats face growing internal turmoil, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is under fire from members of his own party — and some say the unrest may soon spread to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

During Thursday’s segment of Fox & Friends, host Lawrence Jones offered a pointed prediction about who might be the next Democrat to fall out of favor with the party’s increasingly fractured base.

“Quick prediction: Jeffries is next,” Jones told co-hosts Brian Kilmeade and Ainsley Earhardt. “They’re gonna get rid of him next. First, it was Schumer. They’re not happy with Jeffries either. They don’t like his alignment with AIPAC and have been very critical of how he operates.”

Jones added that many progressives in the Democratic Party “don’t respect” Jeffries and that his position had been shielded for years by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

“Nancy Pelosi kind of protected him,” Jones said. “But now that she’s retiring, I believe he’s going to be the next target.”


Democrats in Disarray

The Democratic Party’s internal divisions have been on full display amid the historic 43-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. Schumer, struggling to hold his caucus together, lost seven Democrats and one Independent who sided with Republicans to support a short-term continuing resolution that ultimately reopened the government.

That rebellion has led several prominent progressives — including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — to openly question Schumer’s leadership and even call for his ouster. Although no formal challenge has yet materialized, the discontent is unmistakable.


Pressure Mounts on Party Leadership

Many Democrats are torn between the party’s traditional pro-Israel establishment figures like Schumer and Jeffries, and the ascendant left-wing faction that has become increasingly critical of Israel and of AIPAC’s influence in Washington.

Jones’s comments reflect a broader sense that Democratic leadership is losing control of its own base — particularly among younger, more progressive voters frustrated by what they see as political compromise and a lack of clear vision.


A Growing Divide

The potential downfall of two of the party’s most powerful figures — Schumer in the Senate and Jeffries in the House — would mark a stunning shift within Democratic ranks.

Michelle Obama Addresses White House Rumors

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FLOTUS at Fayetteville, N.C. -The Arts Center speech Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian

There will not be another Obama in the White House any time soon…

Despite rumors that former First Lady Michelle Obama is eyeing her own bid for the Presidency, her office is quashing those claims once and for all.

“As former first Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Crystal Carson, the director of communications for Obama’s office, said in a statement provided to ITK on Tuesday.

Obama “supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign,” Carson said.

The Hill has more:

The statement rejecting any chance of Obama attempting a return to the White House as president, first reported by NBC News, comes after Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, publicly floated the evidence-free idea that the former first lady could replace Biden on the ballot in November.

Commentators have also touted Obama as the “best chance” for Democrats to retain the White House in a potential matchup against former President Trump.

However, despite the Left’s calls for Obama to consider running for public office, she has adamantly tamped down the speculation.

In 2019, Obama said there was “zero chance” she would run for president.

“There are so many ways to improve this country and build a better world, and I keep doing plenty of them, from working with young people to helping families lead healthier lives,” Obama, who founded the voter registration and engagement organization When We All Vote in 2018, said at the time.

“But sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them. It’s just not for me,” she said.

Trump Impeachment Star Witness Makes Longshot Run For Senate

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a former National Security Council official best known for his role in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, announced Tuesday that he is entering Florida’s 2026 U.S. Senate race as a Democrat, challenging Republican Sen. Ashley Moody.

Vindman rose to national prominence in 2019 after testifying against President Trump over a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—testimony that became central to Democrats’ first impeachment effort. That impeachment ultimately failed, with the Senate acquitting Trump in a 52–48 vote largely along party lines.

In his campaign launch video, Vindman leaned heavily on footage from the impeachment proceedings, framing his candidacy as an extension of his opposition to Trump. “The last time you saw me was here,” Vindman said, referring to the impeachment hearing. “Swearing an oath to tell the truth about a president who broke his.”

Vindman went on to describe Trump as a “wannabe tyrant” and claimed the former president unleashed a “reign of terror and retribution” against him and his family—language that underscores how central anti-Trump activism is likely to be to his campaign pitch.

A political newcomer with no prior electoral experience, Vindman faces steep odds in Florida, a state that has moved decisively to the right in recent election cycles. Trump carried the Sunshine State by 13 points in November 2024, and Republicans currently hold every statewide elected office. Florida has not elected a Democratic senator since Bill Nelson’s narrow reelection victory in 2012.

Vindman, an Iraq War veteran, retired from the Army in 2020 after a decades-long military career. He later filed a lawsuit against Trump and several former aides, alleging “intimidation and retaliation,” but the suit was unsuccessful. His wife, Rachel Vindman, publicly criticized former President Joe Biden for declining to issue pardons to the couple at the end of his term.

“Whatever happens to my family, know this: No pardons were offered or discussed,” Rachel Vindman wrote in a post on Bluesky. She added that she “cannot begin to describe the level of betrayal and hurt” she felt toward the Biden administration.

Sen. Ashley Moody, a Republican and former Florida attorney general, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the seat vacated by Marco Rubio after Rubio became secretary of state. Moody is running for reelection with the backing of President Trump and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, giving her a significant institutional and fundraising advantage.

The Cook Political Report currently rates the race as “solid Republican,” its strongest rating for GOP-held seats—reflecting Florida’s recent political realignment and Democrats’ continued struggles to remain competitive statewide.

The 2026 contest is a special election to serve the final two years of Rubio’s term. The winner will need to run again in 2028 to secure a full six-year term.

Vindman has lived in Broward County since 2023, a Democratic stronghold in South Florida. His twin brother, Eugene Vindman, represents a safely Democratic House district in northern Virginia, further highlighting the family’s close ties to Democratic politics.

Nationally, Democrats face a difficult map in 2026 as they attempt a longshot effort to retake control of the Senate. To do so, they would need to defend vulnerable seats in states like Michigan and Georgia while flipping at least four Republican-held seats—an outcome most analysts consider unlikely.

VP Vance Predicts ‘Dumbest’ Democrat Candidate Will Secure Nomination In 2028

Vice President JD Vance took aim at the Democratic Party’s likely 2028 presidential contenders during a lighthearted but pointed exchange on Fox News, joking that the party’s “dumbest” candidate is most likely to emerge from the primary.

In an exclusive interview released Wednesday on Jesse Watters Primetime, Watters raised speculation about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s national ambitions, noting the governor’s frequent media appearances and rumored White House aspirations.

“Gavin Newsom, obviously, is running for president. Have you seen this guy cross his legs? Have you ever seen anyone cross their legs like that?” Watters asked jokingly.

“My legs don’t cross like that, Jesse,” Vance replied with a laugh. “You can interpret that however you want to.”

Watters went on to frame the looming Democratic contest as a showdown between Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Gavin and Kamala are on a collision course,” Watters said. “Who’s gonna win?”

“The dumbest candidate will probably win,” Vance quipped. “That’s my guess with the Democratic Party.”

Vance argued that the current Democratic bench reflects deeper structural problems within the party, particularly its fixation on identity politics over competence.

“I mean, look, the Democrats have a couple of big issues, and one is that they lean so far into wokeism that they can’t see the obviousness of the fact, which is that Kamala Harris is not qualified to be president of the United States,” Vance said.

“That’s why she got the vice presidential nomination. That’s why she got the presidential nomination. This is who Kamala Harris is.”

Vance contrasted Harris with Newsom, describing the California governor as emblematic of failed progressive governance.

“Now, the flip side is, I think you have an unbelievably corrupt and incompetent governor in Gavin Newsom,” he said. “The fact that those are the two frontrunners just suggests how deeply deranged the Democrat Party is. Let them fight it out. We’ll figure it out.”

A Weak Democratic Bench for 2028

While Newsom and Harris dominate early speculation, Democrats face a thin and fractured 2028 field. Other frequently mentioned names include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—each of whom carries significant liabilities with general-election voters. Many Democrats privately acknowledge that the party lacks a unifying figure with broad national appeal, particularly as voters continue to recoil from progressive economic and cultural policies.

Republicans, by contrast, are positioning themselves as the party of stability, affordability, and public safety heading into the next election cycle.

Cost of Living and Accountability

Watters noted that Democrats are expected to campaign heavily on cost-of-living issues in upcoming elections, a strategy Vance dismissed as deeply hypocritical.

“That’s a pot-meet-kettle situation,” Vance argued, pointing to Democratic-led policies that fueled inflation, higher energy costs, and housing shortages.

He credited the Trump administration with reversing those trends.

“We haven’t even been in office for a year, and you’ve already seen prices start to come down. You’ve seen rents start to come down. You’ve seen groceries leveling off,” Vance said.

“Is there more work to do? Absolutely. But the people who are going to do that work is the Trump administration, is the president of the United States, who is solving the Democrats’ affordability crisis.”

“You don’t give power back to the very people who set the house on fire,” he added. “You give more power to the person who put the fire out.”

Impeachment Politics

When asked whether Democrats would attempt to impeach President Trump again if they regain control of Congress, Vance said such a move would be predictable—and revealing.

“I’m sure he’ll get impeached,” Vance said. “Look, they have nothing to actually run on or govern on.”

“Their entire obsessive focus of that party is they hate Donald Trump,” he continued. “So, if they ever get power, are they going to lower Americans’ taxes? No. Are they going to make your life more affordable? No. Are they going to solve the crime crisis? No.”

“What they’re going to do is they’re going to spend all their time and all of your money trying to get Donald Trump.”

Vance urged voters to focus on results rather than partisan theatrics.

“I think the American people should vote for the people who want to make their life more affordable, who want to make their neighborhoods safer,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to deliver every single day.”

Newsom Responds With a Meme

Newsom’s office responded to the interview with a digitally altered image of Vance crossing his legs in an exaggerated pose, captioned: “We all know JD copies Daddy.”

Trump Names Two People When Asked About Potential VP Picks

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Trump is narrowing down his search for his next running mate…

During a weekend interview, former President Donald Trump said he has two potential candidates in mind.

Trump mentioned Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem when asked during a Sunday interview with Maria Bartiromo

“Well, I have a lot of good people. We have a lot of really good people,” Trump said. “I have a lot of good ideas, but I haven’t — and there’s no reason to do that quickly.”

“I speak to everybody,” he said. “I called Tim Scott … and I said, ‘you’re a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself.’ When I watched Tim, he was fine, he was good, but he was very low-key, et cetera, et cetera.”

However, Trump admitted he’s still a ways off from making any final decisions on a running mate. The GOP frontrunner told Bartiromo that his priority in choosing a running mate will be choosing “someone who would be a good president.”

“I watched him in the last week defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me,” he continued. “I said, man, I said, ‘you’re a much better person for me than you are for yourself’, because, for himself, he was low-key. For me, he’s been a real tiger. He’s been incredible. And others have too.”

“Kristi Noem has been incredible fighting for me,” Trump added. “She said, I’d never run against him because I can’t beat him. That was a very nice thing to say.”

On Monday, former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway advised the President to consider choosing a person of color for VP during an op-ed published in The New York Times.

“With a crisis on the border, economic dissatisfaction, fears about crime, a parents’ rights renaissance and multiple wars and threats across the globe, Mr. Trump’s deputy must be able to navigate chaos and challenges at home and abroad,” Conway wrote.

“Taking all of this into consideration, if I were advising Mr. Trump, I would suggest he choose a person of color as his running mate, depending on vetting of all possibilities and satisfaction of procedural issues like dual residency in Florida,” Conway wrote. “Not for identity politics a la the Democrats, but as an equal helping to lead an America First movement that includes more union workers, independents, first-time voters, veterans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans.”

Conway listed Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) among the potential options.

This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.

Federal Judge Resigns To Speak Out Against Trump’s ‘Assault On The Rule Of Law’

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A federal judge appointed by former President Ronald Reagan has resigned his lifetime post to speak publicly against what he describes as a dangerous politicization of the justice system under Donald Trump. Mark L. Wolf, who served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 1985, announced his decision in an op-ed published in The Atlantic, saying he could no longer remain silent as he believes the former president uses the law to reward allies and target adversaries.

Wolf, 78, said that stepping down would allow him to speak freely after decades of being constrained by judicial ethics rules.

“President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment,” he wrote. “This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.”

A Massachusetts native and Harvard Law graduate, Wolf began his public service career in the Department of Justice in 1974, joining just after the Watergate scandal. He served under Attorney General Edward Levi during President Gerald Ford’s administration—a formative experience that, he said, shaped his views on nonpartisan justice and the importance of public trust in the legal system. He later became a top federal prosecutor in Boston before Reagan nominated him to the bench. Over nearly four decades as a judge, Wolf became known for handling high-profile corruption cases and for his work to strengthen judicial ethics and transparency.

Wolf took senior status in 2013, meaning he already had a reduced caseload and his seat was filled the following year by Judge Indira Talwani. His resignation, therefore, does not create a new vacancy for any administration to fill. Instead, it marks his formal departure from a system he says is under siege from political manipulation.

“I decided all of my cases based on the facts and the law, without regard to politics, popularity, or my personal preferences,” Wolf wrote. “That is how justice is supposed to be administered—equally for everyone, without fear or favor. This is the opposite of what is happening now.”

Speaking to The New York Times, Wolf said he hopes to serve as a voice for other judges who feel bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct from speaking candidly about growing public distrust in the courts. “I hope to be a spokesperson for embattled judges who, consistent with the code of conduct, feel they cannot speak candidly to the American people,” he said.

The White House pushed back sharply on Wolf’s remarks. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital that judges “who want to inject their own personal agenda into the law have no place on the bench.”

She added that Trump’s record of legal victories undermines Wolf’s claim of politicization: “With over 20 Supreme Court victories, the Trump Administration’s policies have been consistently upheld by the Supreme Court as lawful despite an unprecedented number of legal challenges and unlawful lower court rulings. Any other radical judges that want to complain to the press should at least have the decency to resign before doing so.”

Gavin Newsom Attacks ‘Ruthless’ Fox News Hosts

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Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation), CC BY 2.5 AR via Wikimedia Commons

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is attacking Fox News prime-time hosts for their “ruthless” approach to media.

The Democrat governor, who has been floated as a possible 2024 contender, remarked over the weekend that Democrats are getting “crushed” by Fox News hosts. Newsom cited his Father-in-law as an example of someone for whom he has great respect, but at the same time, is often confused about his conservative narratives, which he blamed Fox News prime-time hosts for. 

According to Mediaite, a portion of Newsom’s remarks aired Monday morning on CNN’s New Day for discussion.

“These guys are ruthless on the other side. Ruthless on the other side,” Newsom reiterated. “That prime time line up by Fox, they are ruthless. They dominate the most important thing in American politics today, and that’s the narrative. Facts become secondary to narrative. They dominate with illusion. We are getting crushed.”

Panelists Margaret Hoover and John Avlon didn’t refute Newsom’s allegation that hosts for the top-rated cable news program are consistently lying.

Coming out of the clip, Erica Hill noted, “when it comes to messaging in terms of getting crushed, this is something that has been an Achilles heel for Democrats in terms of having a united message across the party.” This may be a shock to any conservative viewer who watched years of Russian interference narratives that, for reasons good and bad, never amounted to anything other than breathless media analysis.

Hoover also noted a media narrative favorable to Democrats seemed a pretty well-oiled machine during past Democrat-led administrations.

“I don’t think necessarily Democrats suffer from lack of a narrative,” Hoover continued. “They own the presidency right now and have control of the Senate. I worry about what he’s pointing to,” which she summarized as getting away from the Michelle Obama rhetorical ethos of “when they go low, we go high.” She ultimately landed on the real issue as she saw it, which was the impact Donald Trump has on political discourse.

“[Newsom] is right in saying Democrats want a fighter right now. He has a good point about the unified narrative of Republicans that tends to put Democrats on defense because they are saying ‘Gosh, look at all those lies.”

Trump’s Hockey Team Surprise Sends Shockwaves To Independent Voter Approval Rating

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President Donald Trump’s introduction of the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address sparked largely positive bipartisan reactions, with Independent voters showing particularly strong approval.

According to Lee Carter of the polling group maslansky+partners, Independent voters responded most enthusiastically when the team entered the House Chamber wearing their gold medals and USA sweatshirts, greeted by thunderous chants of “U-S-A.”

“The USA hockey team and military recognition moments were widely noticed,” Carter said. “Visual, patriotic moments landed more consistently than policy-heavy segments.”

Real-time dial testing conducted by the polling group showed the sharpest spike among Independent voters during the team’s entrance. Republican voters, who were already energized by the speech, showed additional gains in approval during the moment. Even Democratic voters—who overall were the least enthusiastic throughout the address—registered a modest uptick in reaction.

Participants in the polling offered enthusiastic feedback, with comments such as, “What a great moment!” and, “Love it!” Even some critics acknowledged, “They deserve recognition,” and, “It’s a nice moment.”

The president had invited the team to attend the State of the Union after their thrilling 2-1 overtime victory against Canada in the Winter Olympics gold medal game.

During the address, President Trump introduced the team to loud cheers from members of Congress and the audience, who once again broke into chants of “USA! USA! USA!”

“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, ‘Please, please, please, Mr. President, we are winning too much. We can’t take it anymore. We’re not used to winning in our country. Until you came along, we were just always losing, but now we’re winning too much.’ And I say, ‘No, no, no, you’re going to win again. You are going to win big, you’re gonna win bigger than ever.’ And to prove that point, to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud,” Trump said, adding:

The men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team — come on in!

After extended applause inside the chamber, Trump remarked, “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen them get up. And actually, not all of them did get up, but they beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw, as did the American women, who will soon be coming to the White House.”

The president also announced that he would honor goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After praising the team’s collective performance, Trump described asking players to vote on whether their goaltender deserved the nation’s highest civilian honor.

“But I have to say that, and I told them this, and we took a vote of the team. I said, ‘Anybody votes no, I’m not doing it.’ So they stood there, and they weren’t about to say no because I’ve never seen a goaltender play as well as goalie Connor Hellebuyck,” said Trump.

He continued:

Think of it– 46 shots on goal. And I asked him, “The one shot, the one where you put your stick in the back and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off, you practice that or was that a little lucky?” He refused to answer that question, but I just want to tell you that the members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear, based on their vote and my vote– and in this case, my vote was more important– that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor, which we will be given and which has been given to many athletes over the years. But when I say many, not too many, like 12. It’s called the highest civilian honor in our country. The Presidential Medal of Freedom. Great athletes have gotten that very great, the best. And I thought he deserved it. And I did take a vote. Every single one of them. I said, “I’m not giving it if anybody goes no.” And every single one of them rapidly put up their hand. So I want to thank you all. What a special job you did. What special champions you are. Thank you very much.

The moment stood out as one of the evening’s most unifying highlights.

Bongino Reveals How He Left Traps Within FBI To Root Out Media Leakers

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Dan Bongino via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is pulling back the curtain on what he says was a deeply divided bureau — and the tactics he used to expose internal “snakes.”

Speaking on the “Hang Out with Sean Hannity” podcast, Bongino described an FBI split between agents committed to the mission and others he believes were actively undermining it from within.

“There were two FBIs trying to help you solve the A, B and C problems, and that’s FBI one and FBI two,” Bongino said in the episode released Tuesday.

According to Bongino, one side of the bureau was filled with professionals he respected deeply — including agents working in Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) units and violent crime fugitive task forces.

But the other side, he warned, was far more troubling.

“And then you had this other FBI,” Bongino said, adding, “which was populated with, to say, unfortunately, ‘snakes’ is being nice.”

A Hidden Divide Inside the Bureau

Bongino explained that one of the biggest challenges he and FBI Director Kash Patel faced was figuring out who could be trusted — and who couldn’t.

The problem, he said, wasn’t always obvious.

“You’re trying to figure this out, and you’re asking someone for advice, you’ve only been there a couple weeks, and you don’t know if that person is part of the good FBI or the bad FBI,” Bongino said.

Even recommendations from within the bureau sometimes backfired.

“It happened a couple times where they’d say, ‘Oh, you can trust John Smith.’ And you trust John Smith, and then a week later you see a leak in the media and you’d be like, ‘I’m pretty sure that came from John Smith,’” he added.

How Bongino Flushed Out Leakers

To combat internal leaks, Bongino said he turned to a simple but effective strategy: setting traps.

He described deliberately sharing small, harmless — or “innocuous” — details about his schedule with select individuals, then watching to see if that information surfaced in the media.

When it did, it pointed directly to the source.

“It was like we would play this little game,” Bongino said.

The tactic allowed him to identify individuals he believed were leaking sensitive information, even as he acknowledged the broader difficulty of navigating an agency he viewed as internally fractured.

A Mission to Restore Trust

Bongino joined the FBI in March 2025 with a stated goal of restoring integrity and public trust in the bureau. He served for nearly a year before departing in January 2026.

At the time of his appointment, he made clear what he saw as the stakes.

“My promise to you is that I will work tirelessly to help restore integrity, eliminate political bias, and ensure the FBI remains dedicated to its core mission of protecting the United States and upholding the Constitution,” Bongino said.

Now back in the public arena, Bongino is offering a firsthand account of what he describes as a battle inside one of the nation’s most powerful institutions — and the methods he used to confront it.