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Axios
3 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Patel and Bongino's choppy transition from roasting the FBI to running it
Kash Patel and Dan Bongino spent years torching the American security state for concealing nefarious secrets about Jeffrey Epstein, Jan. 6, the "Russia hoax" and the assassination attempts against President Trump. Now they're not only inside the gates, they're in charge of the FBI — and serving a president who distrusts the bureau even more than they do. The big picture: Patel and Bongino's recent Fox News interviews, and sources familiar with their reception inside the bureau, make clear the difficulties they face in maintaining confidence with three key audiences: their fans, their employees, and the president. 1. Some followers and fellow MAGA media figures who revered Patel and Bongino for pillorying the "Deep State" were aghast by their recent conspiracy-quashing comments, particularly that Epstein really killed himself. "People are pissed. They feel like Dan and Kash aren't doing the job, that they're beholden to some unseen powers," MAGA-aligned podcaster Tim Pool said Wednesday, adding that he "largely" still trusts the pair. Bongino — who left a lucrative podcasting gig to be Patel's deputy — told "Fox and Friends" he was finding it difficult not to be able to reveal information about ongoing investigations, and to be criticized by those who want to "divorce us from the people." He and Patel, who parlayed his reputation as one of Trump 1.0's most aggressive lieutenants into MAGA media stardom, have deep wells of goodwill from the base, despite the impatience for disclosures and deep state arrests. 2. The FBI's 38,000-strong workforce was never going to immediately embrace the idea of a couple of its biggest antagonists calling the shots, but it's been a tumultuous few months. Bureau veterans have privately mocked Bongino's emphasis on ideas like adding pull-ups to the fitness test and MMA-style training at Quantico. Some have pushed back on more substantive decisions, such as devoting scores of agents to partnering with ICE on immigration-related arrests, at the expense of other investigative priorities. Patel told Fox News that rank-and-file FBI employees are on board with its mission, they're clearing out the old leadership, and recruiting is at a five-year high. FBI spokespeople have pushed back on stories about Patel working remotely from Las Vegas, taking government planes to visit his girlfriend in Nashville, or downsizing the early morning briefings that past directors have taken. 3. While Trump has been publicly supportive, he did say it was "a little bit hard to believe" assertions from Patel and other senior law enforcement figures that there was no wider conspiracy behind the assassination attempts against him. Democrats such as Sen. Dick Durbin have claimed that because loyalty to Trump earned Patel and Bongino theirs posts, they'll lack the independence of past directors and simply say what Trump wants to hear or tailor investigations to suit the White House. What they're saying: "Many of these comments are from the same individuals responsible for the shameful politicization of the FBI in the first place. Their criticisms play no factor as we work to clean up the mess they helped leave behind," FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told Axios. "FBI Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino are doing an incredible job protecting the American people and bringing back law and order, justice and fairness to America," said White House spokesperson Harrison Fields. Driving the news: Patel and Bongino acknowledged in their recent flurry of interviews that their supporters want them to clean house, lock up Trump antagonists like ex-director James Comey, and reveal more about the malfeasance they and their MAGA media colleagues have long alleged the FBI engaged in — including fomenting the Jan. 6 riot and conspiring against Trump. Bongino made a plea for time, suggesting the skullduggery ran so deep that it would take months to uncover. He also claimed they had just discovered bags of hidden files from the Comey era, and would be prioritizing cases like the discovery of cocaine in the Biden White House. Williamson said Patel and Bongino "have committed to working with Congress to provide the American people the accountable and transparent FBI they deserve," and are "grateful for our interagency partners and the leadership of this administration in that pursuit." Zoom in: Bongino acknowledged the transition from flamethrower to G-man has been jarring. "Part of you dies a little bit when you see all this stuff from behind the scenes," he said on "Fox and Friends". He said a former listener told him "I miss you," and that he replied, "You know, I miss me too." He made clear he hates sitting in his FBI office all day and not being able to "swing back" at his critics. "It's difficult for me to not be able to respond like I used to, but there'll be a day, there'll be a day," Bongino said. "I'll be back one day."
South China Morning Post
16-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
As US retreats, Asian powers can reshape world order to meet their needs
The global order that once promised free trade, open borders and shared prosperity has cracked. The so-called liberal international order, constructed after the second world war and turbocharged after the Cold War, is dissolving . Its collapse is being brought about by the very country that built it: the United States. Advertisement Under the Trump 2.0 administration, the US is decidedly stepping back from open markets and liberal values. Its immediate predecessor, Joe Biden's administration, continued many of Trump 1.0's economic policies – on trade protection and reshoring of supply chains. There is now a bipartisan consensus in America that globalisation, at least in its past form, no longer serves US interests. Washington is no longer selling the dream of a borderless, liberal world. It is selling security, industrial policy and 'Made in America' – so America will be great again. In this frame, even long-standing allies are foes. To understand this shift, it helps to revisit Harvard economist Dani Rodrik's trilemma , which explains why countries can't simultaneously have full national sovereignty, deep economic globalisation and democratic politics – at best, they can have two. Much of the world, however, thought all three could coexist. Faced with rising inequality , the hollowing out of its manufacturing base and a restless electorate, the US has chosen populist democracy and sovereignty over globalisation. The original champion of open markets is rewriting the rules to protect its industries. Free-market rhetoric is giving way to strategic competition, especially against a China that has become the world's major industrial economy. Advertisement
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
China Inc. Enjoys Last Moment Of Calm Before Trumpian Storm
U.S. President Donald expansion of Chinese factory activity in March could be as good as it gets for Asia's biggest economy in 2025. All economic data are essentially ancient history upon release. Rarely is that truer than for Chinese factories bracing for the worst trade war since Deng Xiaoping's late-1970s reforms set the nation on a course that President Donald Trump is angling to stop. It's great that China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index improved to 50.5 in March versus 50.2 in February. A number over 50 points to expansion, and China is heading into the second quarter in the green. The non-manufacturing measure of activity in the construction and services sectors rose to 50.8 from 50.4. This snapshot suggests that China is approaching Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs — on top of the 20% taxes Trump has already imposed — with a slight bit of momentum. But, arguably, not nearly enough to withstand what's about to come China's way from the Trump 2.0 gang. Trump, let's face it, is angry. So far, China hasn't run hat-in-hand to the White House with a stack of pre-emptive concessions to avoid his wrath. Nor are the leaders of Japan and South Korea, which Trump World seemed to think would wave the white flag early and often to avoid the trade war. And here comes Vladimir Putin to remind the globe that Trump's negotiating skills are sophomoric, at best. Weeks of Team Trump attempting to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine is hitting a predictable wall of Russian intractability. Trump told NBC News that he's "very angry" and "pissed off" to the point where the U.S. might impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Putin's oil. Just about everywhere he turns, global leaders are rolling their eyes at Trump's efforts to have his way with the world economy. And that's likely to put an even bigger bullseye on China over the next nine months of 2025. After all, Trump's most obvious path to a successful second term is a 'great bargain' trade deal with Xi Jinping's nation. Trump 1.0's trade deals were more photo opportunities than economic wins for the U.S. workers. The Phase One Trade Agreement that Trump signed with Xi did even less to alter trade dynamics than Trump's United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). And Trump World seems to know it. Hence the early focus on a Group of Two trade deal that might earn Trump a place in the pantheon of economic reformers. Only, Team Xi wasn't playing along. Rather than offering a series of compromises to the U.S., China made it clear it's keen to see Trump's list of concessions. So, Trump World went the tariffs route, hoping it would frighten Beijing into submission. Hardly. Now Trump is left flailing as China calls his bluff and America's allies look on with a mix of dismay and horror. From Canada to Mexico to Denmark, disorientation abounds. In Japan, America's top ally in Asia, there's a growing sense of betrayal over Trump's tariff policies. In his first term, Trump had no better ally than then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Now, Abe's party mate Shigeru Ishiba can barely get in to see Trump. Worse, Ishiba's hopes of winning Japan a pass on tariffs ended ignominiously with Trump's 25% tax on cars and auto parts. Trump going after Japanese autos has long been the Liberal Democratic Party's worst nightmare. 'Japan has made significant investments and significant job-creation, which does not apply to all countries,' Ishiba said last week. 'We are the number one [country] in investment in the United States.' It hardly matters. And if this is how Trump 2.0 treats Washington's best friends, it's not hard to guess what China might be in for. Especially with Xi's economy battling deflationary pressures at a moment when its property crisis continues to undermine consumer confidence. China is grappling with dangerously high youth unemployment, local governments carrying crushing debt loads, a private sector having difficulty supplanting state enterprises and households predisposed to saving as opposed to consuming. Wall Street's fears that China might be 'uninvestable' continue to stalk mainland markets. Last week, Xi held court with dozens of executives of top global firms, including Jay Y. Lee of Samsung Electronics and Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Inc., to boost foreign investment. Yet many economists think that achieving this year's 5% growth target — and keeping factories humming — will require trillions of yuan of fresh stimulus as Trump's revenge tour arrives in Asia at the worst possible moment.
