Trump's advisors

Molly Butler / Media Matters

Research/Study Research/Study

A guide to the MAGA media universe

Trump's inner circle of advisers has shifted even more toward the fringes

A close-knit circle of operatives supporting former President Donald Trump’s reelection and being floated for a variety of Cabinet-level positions in a potential second Trump administration also regularly appear as hosts and guests across the right-wing media. Occupying a number of roles in the right-wing movement — from think tank presidents to far-right internet trolls — they share a fierce loyalty to Trump, and many have shown a willingness to subvert the rule of law and the democratic process.

These pro-Trump media figures have also developed a new infrastructure for the MAGA movement — most notably Project 2025, a wide-ranging policy and staffing initiative led by right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation and supported by dozens of other conservative institutions. Project 2025 aims to prepare for a potential Trump presidential transition to hit the ground running in a second term.

A central component of this plan is the reimplementation of Schedule F, an executive order issued in the final days of the Trump administration only to be rescinded immediately by President Joe Biden. Schedule F would remove protections for tens of thousands of civil servants, making it easier for the administration to fire them and replace them with Trump loyalists. The most important media platform for Project 2025 is Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, a firehose of pro-Trump sycophancy where he frequently hosts guests working on this project.

In addition to pushing Project 2025, some right-wing media figures tied to Trump have advocated for his potential administration to govern as Christian nationalists and spread the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory to gin up support for a draconian immigration agenda.

Media Matters is publishing this guide of Trump's inner circle of advisers pushing extremism, authoritarianism, bigotry, and misinformation in their media appearances. This resource will be updated on a regular basis.

  • Steve Bannon

  • Steve Bannon on a red background

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Steve Bannon is a former top Trump adviser and current host of the War Room podcast, a central hub of the MAGA media universe and main platform of Project 2025. Reporting from ABC’s Jonathan Karl indicates that Bannon has “once again emerged as one of Trump’s most important advisers." He has been reportedly floated as a potential chief of staff in a second Trump administration, backed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and others.

    Bannon’s influence is also felt in D.C., especially among House Republicans. He marshaled a successful campaign to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker of the House in 2023, and he has suggested that McCarthy’s successor, Mike Johnson, should meet the same fate. Trump has promised to use a second presidency to enact retribution against his political enemies, and Bannon has endorsed it, promising, “This is just not rhetoric. We're absolutely dead serious,” and saying there will be “no middle ground” or “compromise” in a second Trump term.

    Bannon was a key driver of the January 6 insurrection and has since been an unrepentant mouthpiece for its historical revision on the right. During the 2020 presidential election period and its aftermath, he used revolutionary rhetoric that often implicated or explicitly endorsed the use of violence, at one point calling for FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci to be beheaded. Bannon has referred to migrants as “locusts” and called for “shutting down the border” and “mass deportations.” Additionally, several organizations he has ties with were recently named in a federal indictment of his longtime associate Miles Guo.

    In recent months, Bannon has advanced claims that a second Trump administration will seek retribution against the “administrative state,” promoted his picks for who will serve in another Trump Cabinet, amplified far-right narratives about the southern border and immigration, and criticized GOP leadership. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On War Room Bannon said his audience would embrace a third and fourth Trump term. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/21/24]

    • While discussing “lawfare” against Trump, Bannon stated that a Trump Justice Department will charge lawyers prosecuting the former president with felonies. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/21/24]
    • Bannon again repeated claims that the 2020 election was stolen and claimed “they’re going to do everything to try to steal this election.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/13/24]
    • Bannon said Trump wouldn’t jail political opponents but “the criminals and traitors around Biden, you should be very worried.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/9/24]
    • During an interview with John Fredericks, Bannon criticized Trump for supporting Mike Johnson as House speaker, saying he is “dead wrong” and calling Johnson a “worm.” [John Fredericks Radio Network, The John Fredericks Show, 5/6/24]
    • In an interview with Mike Davis on War Room, Bannon said, “The hunted are going to become the hunters. That is what’s at stake here.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 4/24/24]
    • While complaining about Trump’s hush money trial on War Room, Bannon claimed that “the entire country has crossed the Rubicon” with this “sham, joke show trial.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 4/15/24]
    • Bannon stated on War Room that “there's empirical evidence” Trump is an “instrument of divine providence.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 4/1/24]
    • On War Room, Bannon called the MAGA movement an “insurgency” and said “the accountability project” if Trump wins the election  will involve jailing “demonic” Democrats. [Real America's Voice, War Room, 3/27/24]
    • On War Room, Bannon said his audience is a “cadre” in a “revolutionary movement” and claimed Democrats “cannot win unless they cheat.” He added: “They cannot beat Trump unless they steal it.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/25/24]
    • During War Room, Bannon again claimed the 2020 election was stolen and said that “the only way they defeat Trump is they steal it. He is unstoppable.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/25/24]
    • On War Room Bannon claimed Democrats are planning to win the presidency via a contingent election in the House of Representatives on January 6, 2025. Bannon said, “They're going to say, we can't certify this election because” Trump is an “insurrectionist.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/19/24]

    • In a keynote speech at the Patrons for American Statecraft Conference, Bannon told the audience “you have to be prepared to go to prison” for the Trump movement. [Media Matters, 3/15/24]
    • On War Room Bannon claimed that Florida will be “under invasion” from a “flotilla coming from Haiti.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/13/24]
    • Bannon said Trump’s candidacy will be a referendum on mass deportations. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/5/24]

    • In a rant on immigration Bannon told his audience that migrants have “zero rights.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/4/24]
    • Bannon promoted the “great replacement” conspiracy theory claiming, “They want to replace the existing African American and Hispanic population in this country because, guess what, they understand they’re turning right.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/1/24]
    • Bannon told his War Room audience, “Mass deportations are going to start, if you don't like that, then don't vote for President Trump.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/29/24]
    • Bannon encouraged his viewers to contact Congress and tell them to shut down the government until the border is closed. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/28/24]
    • With guest Frank Gaffney, Bannon revived a right-wing talking point that there is an imaginary alliance between liberal voters and “radical Islamists.” [Media Matters, 2/28/24]
    • During Bannon's 2024 CPAC speech, he claimed that Trump will “drive the vermin out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” [Media Matters, 2/25/24]

    • Bannon suggested Democrats stole a New York special election with “mail-in ballots and with these bad voter rolls.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/14/24]

    • On War Room Bannon claimed “globalists” are trying to “set an apartheid state here in the United States for the MAGA movement” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/13/24]

    • Bannon claimed “Democrats can’t win unless they steal” the 2024 election. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/7/24]

    • Echoing the white nationalist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, Bannon claimed the Biden administration has “methodically and systematically” allowed “the invasion of this country” by migrants in order to cultivate “Democrat votes.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/6/24]

    • Bannon said that anyone who doesn’t believe the 2020 election was “stolen” should not “be a senior member of the RNC [Republican National Committee].” “It’s not a loyalty test, it’s a logic test,” he said. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/1/24]

    • In a GETTR post, Bannon claimed there is a “coming Civil War.” [GETTR, 1/26/24]

    • In an interview on ITV News, Bannon claimed: “President Trump will look to deconstruct the administrative state — the Supreme Court’s already into this right now, reviewing cases about downsizing this bureaucracy.” [ITV News, 1/25/24]

    • On GETTR Bannon claimed Texas is part of a “Border War.” [GETTR, 1/25/24]

    • Sharing a report that Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices were poised to overturn a longstanding legal precedent enabling government agencies to regulate public safety and consumer protections, Bannon celebrated: “Deconstruction of the Administrative State has begun. ….Trump’s Justices Lead the Way.” [GETTR, 1/18/24]

    • Bannon pledged to lead an effort to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from leadership if he doesn't give into far-right funding demands. [Media Matters, 1/17/24]

    • Linking to a CNN article discussing the Israeli far right’s effort to displace Palestinians in Gaza, Bannon wrote, “The War Against the Sharia Supremacists About to Get Real for the Nation of Israel.” [GETTR, 1/17/24]

    • On Leading Britain’s Conversation, Bannon said that his policies are “much farther right than President Trump.” [YouTube, 1/16/24]

    • In the same appearance, Bannon said, “We’re training up, right now, 3,000 people that can step into the government [on] day one” of a potential second Trump presidency to take over the federal bureaucracy for “the populist, MAGA, America First agenda.” [YouTube, 1/16/24]

    • Bannon: “If President Trump ever asked me to come back to the campaign or to the White House, I would always do what President Trump asked me to do.” [YouTube, 1/16/24]

    • Bannon shared an image of Trump at his 2017 inauguration, writing, “Back with a Vengeance.” [GETTR, 1/16/24]

    • Bannon wrote “Come Retribution” in response to Trump’s win in the Iowa caucuses. Noting Bannon’s previous use of the phrase to hype Trump’s 2024 campaign launch, reporter Jonathan Karl wrote that “according to some Civil War historians, [Come Retribution] served as the code words for the Confederate Secret Service’s plot to take hostage—and eventually assassinate—President Abraham Lincoln.” [GETTR, 1/16/24; The Bulwark, 11/3/23]

    • Bannon shared a tweet depicting CNN entrance poll results in the Iowa Republican caucuses, writing, “65% of Caucus Goers Think Biden is an ILLEGITIMATE President. Go MAGA!!” [GETTR, 1/15/24]

    • Bannon shared a CBS News poll, writing that “72% of Republican Voters Agree That Illegal Alien Invaders are ‘Poisoning the Blood’ of America; 48% of ALL VOTERS.” [GETTR, 1/15/24]

    • Bannon called Speaker Mike Johnson “a hot mess” and “a wimp.” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 1/12/24]

    • Bannon responded to a conspiratorial rant from his guest, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), by asking if she would be willing to serve as Trump's vice president or in his Cabinet. [Real America's Voice, War Room, 1/11/24]

    • Bannon regularly uses right-wing religious rhetoric about “spiritual warfare” against “demonic” Democrats. [Media Matters, 1/11/24]

    • Bannon touted longtime right-wing media figure Monica Crowley as a possible national security adviser in a second Trump term. [Real America's Voice, War Room, 1/9/24]

    • On GETTR, Bannon wrote that “MAGA Must First Purge, Then Rejuvenate and Restore” American institutions. [GETTR, 1/7/24]

    • Bannon wrote that “DEI Programs Must be Eradicated ‘Root and Branch’ in Academia, Government and Especially Corporate America,” celebrating “MAGA ON a Roll” after the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania resigned. [GETTR, 1/7/24]

    • Bannon claimed that “the Invasion of Our Country has been Thoroughly Planned and Well Executed by the Enemies—Foreign and Domestic—of America.” [GETTR, 1/3/24]

    • On War Room, Bannon said, “We should get kids off of social media and start teaching them the proper use of guns.” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 12/19/23]

    • Discussing a potential Trump second term, Bannon said, “There's no middle ground” or “compromise.” He added, “Just because you got a R next to your name doesn't mean anything to us. You’re either with us or you're against us.” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 12/7/23]

    • Bannon linked to reporting on his and Kash Patel’s statements that they plan to go after journalists if Trump is reelected, writing, “Second Term Accountability Project—Prosecute ‘The Embeds.’” [GETTR, 12/5/23]

    • Bannon claimed the Insurrection Act will serve as “Legal Basis for President Trump to Restore Order in 2nd Term.” [GETTR, 12/4/23]

    • Bannon referred to the Project 2025 staffing plan to “Deconstruct the Administrative State,” as led by “MAGA and Team Trump.” [GETTR, 12/1/23]

  • Tucker Carlson

  • Tucker Carlson

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Tucker Carlson is a former Fox News prime-time host. He was the network’s biggest ratings driver until he was fired from Fox in April 2023 amid numerous concurrent crises at the company, including fallout from the historic $787.5 million settlement in the Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against the network. He has since launched a digital media property called the Tucker Carlson Network in an apparent attempt to keep his voice in the public discourse.

    Carlson has been floated as a possible vice presidential pick for Trump, and the two appeared together at a November 2023 UFC event. Carlson reportedly regularly advises Trump on the phone, and Jon Karl notes they speak specifically about matters related to Ukraine policy. In 2023, Trump skipped a Republican presidential debate in favor of a softball interview with Carlson.

    Embarrassing private communications from Carlson were revealed as a part of the Dominion lawsuit in which he privately blasted the former president for his handling of the 2020 election and its violent aftermath. In one text message referring to Trump, he said, “I hate him passionately.” In another text message that reportedly angered executives leading up to Carlson’s Fox News ouster, he described cheering on “a group of Trump guys” attacking an “Antifa kid” in a video he watched but also noted that “jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously. It’s not how white men fight.”

    As a host on Fox News, Carlson was chiefly responsible for introducing and mainstreaming the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which purports that nonwhite immigrants are coming to overtake and disenfranchise white Americans, often at the behest of Democrats. A 2022 New York Times investigation found that Carlson “amplified the idea that Democratic politicians and others want to force demographic change through immigration” in more than 400 episodes. His hardcore racist commentary made him a hero to neo-Nazis and other extremists, and he repeatedly hosted guests with fringe ties. Media Matters has extensively documented this commentary, going back to 2004. Carlson also has a history of pushing (and allegedly practicing) extreme misogyny.

    Carlson has recently pushed violent anti-immigrant and antisemitic narratives alongside anti-LGBT and misogynistic content. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • Interviewing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Carlson suggested that “every able-bodied man with a black rifle assemble at the border, and we're just gonna stop this and save the country.” [Twitter/X, Tucker on X, 12/7/23]

    • Attempting to exploit the anti-immigrant riots in Ireland to demonize migrants and Muslims, Carlson told Steve Bannon, “The Irish government is trying to replace the population of Ireland with people from the Third World, obviously,” and added that the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory is “not a theory.” [Media Matters, 11/30/23]

    • During an interview with The Daily Wire's Candace Owens on his X (formerly Twitter) show, Carlson stated that rich Jews were funding “white genocide.” He added, “And then I found myself really hating those people, actually. ‘You’re OK with that? On what grounds were you OK with that?’” [Media Matters, 11/21/23]

    • Carlson hosted violent celebrity misogynist Andrew Tate on his X program and spread a variety of harmful and baseless conspiracies. Carlson claimed that charges against Tate were part of a conspiracy to silence him and that transgender people are the endpoint of the supposed decline of traditional gender roles, which Tate then suggested would lead to “slavery.” [Media Matters, 7/14/23]

    • After the Covenant school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, Carlson used the opportunity to fearmonger about transgender people, saying the shooting happened “because of a deranged and demonic ideology.” He also said, “The trans movement is the mirror image of Christianity and therefore, its natural enemy.” [Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 3/29/23]

  • Jeffrey Clark

  • Clark

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Jeffrey Clark served as the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division during the first Trump administration, and he was a key participant in Trump’s attempts to stay in power following his loss in November 2020.

    Leading up to the January 6 insurrection, Trump considered installing Clark as acting attorney general due to his reported willingness to subvert election law. Clark was also identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s attempts to overturn the election by special counsel Jack Smith, who alleged that Clark “attempted to use the Justice Department to open sham election crime investigations and influence state legislatures with knowingly false claims of election fraud.” In August, he was criminally charged in Georgia for his role in attempting to overturn the election, along with 18 other defendants. Bannon has proposed that Trump appoint Clark as attorney general in a potential second term.

    After leaving government, Clark was hired by the Center for Renewing America as a senior fellow, and he is a regular guest on Bannon’s War Room. In July 2023, he explained to the War Room audience that he’d supported using the Insurrection Act against anti-racist protesters in the summer of 2020 and argued against the longstanding norm that the Justice Department remain free from White House political pressure.

    Clark has been adamantly pushing anti-immigrant narratives, criticizing diversity initiatives, and insulting the current GOP leadership. He also pushed the idea of the Justice Department having less independence from the president. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On X, Clark argued “there is no separation of church and state in the Constitution.” [Twitter/X, 2/29/24]

    • As a guest on War Room, Clark argued against the Supreme Court ruling on the Texas border case and claimed that “the state of Texas has a right to resist invasion and a right to repel invasion.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 1/22/24]

    • On War Room, Clark celebrated a potential Supreme Court ruling as “a first major step in clipping the wings of the administrative state.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 1/17/24]

    • Clark blamed “DEI and CRT and wokism – and their recent manifestation as antisemitism” on Democrats. [Twitter/X, 1/16/24]

    • Clark wrote that the Republican Party has “been so, so infiltrated by closet dems” and “only Trump has shone a light on this problem and caused those who were never with us to openly defect.” [Twitter/X, 1/16/24]

    • Clark wrote that grants Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg provided to local election offices in 2020 were meant to “artificially pump up Democrat voter turnout in the key battleground states under cover of an overhyped COVID crisis.” [Twitter/X, 1/16/24]

    • Clark pledged to “turn things around” on immigration “starting with the 2024 election,” with “any State, or City, or school district” that puts “illegal immigrant housing over the education of our own citizens” losing “all of its federal funding immediately.” [Twitter/X, 1/10/24]

    • Clark called the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) “an anti-American extension of the radical elements of the Democrat party.” He added that “Soros, who funds CREW, is a one-man wrecking ball of the American constitutional order,” referring to philanthropist George Soros. [Twitter/X, 1/4/23]

    • On Family Research Council President Tony Perkins’ podcast, Clark warned that litigation to remove Trump from the ballot for insurrection makes Republican retaliation “fair play.” [Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, 1/2/24]

    • On Bannon’s War Room, Clark said there needs to be a “beefed up” religious liberty task force to fight anti-Christian sentiment and Bannon floated him as attorney general in Trump’s second term. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 12/20/23]

    • Clark wrote, “No one should get to be an immigrant to the US if he or she is dependent on public welfare.” He continued, “We can properly exclude those people from the country who will become public charges.” [Twitter/X, 12/19/23]

    • Clark posted on X that DEI is “anti-Enlightenment, anti-American,” and “evil.” [Twitter/X, 12/17/23]

    • Clark joined Bannon’s War Room and claimed that the Department of Justice should not be independent from White House pressure and influence. He stated, “The president, his chief duty is to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, right? Which means law enforcement, which means the Justice Department.” [Real America's Voice, War Room, 7/3/23]

  • Mike Davis

  • Mike Davis

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Mike Davis is former counsel to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. As founder of the Article III Project, a conservative legal think tank, he has emerged as a ubiquitous talking head on various legal issues in MAGA media, regularly making extreme claims and endorsing Trump’s behavior. Donald Trump Jr. has suggested Davis as a possible attorney general in a second Trump administration.

    Among a deluge of extremist commentary, Davis had previously promised a “three week reign of terror” if given the chance to serve as Trump’s attorney general, even threatening to indict Media Matters staff. He also downplayed the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and suggested that sedition charges against Proud Boys were about “trying to take out Trump.” In September, Davis promised that a second Trump administration would deport more than 10 million immigrants and pledged: “We're gonna put kids in cages. It's gonna be glorious.”

    Davis frequently takes to X and right-wing podcasts to promote violent anti-immigrant, racist, and misogynistic narratives and speculate about possible assignments in Trump’s Cabinet. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On War Room, Davis threatened Attorney General Merrick Garland with prosecution: “Come January 20, 2025, when the Trump 47 Justice Department is back in office, guess what, Merrick Garland? You are going to be the subject of a criminal probe for conspiracy against rights.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 5/16/24]
    • On Fox, Davis claimed that the Trump hush money trial is “clearly unconstitutional. This is clearly lawfare and Democrat election interference.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 5/6/24]
    • On The Charlie Kirk Show, Davis complained that Jack Smith is “clearly violating the Justice Department rules because he is intentionally trying to interfere in the election.” [Salem Radio, The Charlie Kirk Show, 4/30/24]
    • On War Room, Davis threatened retribution to “Biden Democrats” who were part of the efforts to litigate Trump’s legal cases. Davis claimed that “there are going to be the most severe legal, political and financial consequences come January 20, 2025.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 4/26/24]
    • In an interview with Sebastian Gorka on America First, Davis claimed in Trump’s next term he will hire “people who are even bolder and even more courageous” because Republican judges and lawyers have been “sheltering in place. And guess what? When the Constitution’s under attack, that’s when we need these judges and lawyers the most.” [Salem Media Group, America First with Sebastian Gorka, 4/2/24]
    • In an interview with Steve Bannon, Davis stated, “I'm going to be Trump's viceroy of D.C. because I don't like democracy,” and claimed, “I want more authoritory -- authoritory powers.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/27/24]
    • Davis fearmongered about “unvetted fighting-aged male illegal immigrants” storming the the border and claimed that Biden is “aiding and abetting a violent invasion of our country.” Davis also argued that Democrats see migrants as potential new voters, a narrative that echoes the white supremacist ”great replacement” conspiracy theory. [Twitter/X, 3/21/24; 3/21/24; 3/21/24
    • Davis claimed multiple times on Twitter that if he were Trump’s “viceroy of DC” it would be a “bloodbath.” [Twitter/X, 3/19/24; 3/19/24
    • Parroting the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, Davis asked on X,  “Why are these Democrats mass-importing illegal immigrants? So they can get oppressed? Or so they can replace us?” [Twitter/X, 3/18/24]
    • Davis predicted that there will be “Hamas riots to scare the hell out of Republican voters” on Election Day. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 3/4/24]
    • On The Ingraham Angle, Davis said 2020 was a rigged election and called on Republican lawyers “to start filing lawsuits and getting injunctions right now … so we don’t have the election rigged again like it was in 2020.” Davis declared, “This is about their ability to rig and steal elections.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 3/4/24
    • On X Davis has repeatedly called for Americans to “arm up” because the “politicized and weaponized” justice system won’t protect Republicans. [Twitter/X, 2/21/24, 2/23/24]

    • During an interview with Charlie Kirk, Mike Davis said, “I'm still scratching my head on what's wrong with being a Christian nationalist.” [Salem Media, The Charlie Kirk Show, 2/21/24]

    • Davis on X: “Dear Americans: 1. Arm up. 2. Shoot to kill.” [Twitter/X, 2/6/24]

    • In response to a post on X that criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Davis wrote that the U.S. should “stop importing into America third-world Marxist trash.” Davis also suggested that electing politicians like Omar was part of the “Democrats' (and China's) plan to destroy America from within.” [Twitter/X, 1/31/24]

    • Davis posted to X, “We must stop importing this third-world trash. Send. Them. Home.” [Twitter/X, 1/30/24]

    • In a post responding to recent carjackings in Washington, D.C., Davis told his followers: “Arm up. Shoot to kill. Democrat politicians won't protect you from the roving gangs of carjackers and murderers.” [Twitter/X, 1/30/24]

    • After the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, Davis posted, “These leftwing black women are objectively unqualified on paper. Now we learn they are frauds.” Davis added, “Defund these race-hustlers in the DEI industry.” [Twitter/X, 1/30/24]

    • On X, Davis wrote, “How about gas chamber for Members of Congress lying to Americans?” [Twitter/X, 1/22/24]

    • Davis called for violence against women, posting to X, “How about cutting out the tongues of Democrat activist women who lie about sexual assault?” [Twitter/X, 1/22/24]

    • Davis posted an image of E. Jean Carroll next to Melania Trump and wrote, “Dear President Trump: Here is the only exhibit you need for Jean Carroll trial.” [GETTR, 1/18/24]

    • Davis said “Powerful Marxist Black women” like MSNBC host Joy- Ann Reid “are some of the most destructive forces in American society.” [Twitter/X, 1/17/24]

    • Davis called for “Hamas supporters” in the U.S. to have “their visas revoked” and be “thrown out of the country.” He added, “If they’re naturalized citizens, having them denaturalized and get them the hell out of America because they’re trash, and they need to get the hell out of America because they don’t share our Judeo-Christian values.” [Rumble, The Yossi Schmidt Show, 1/16/24]

    • Davis wrote: “Never apologize for being a ‘white Christian.’ Be proud. We have been—and continue to be—the greatest force for good in human history. Especially for poor, minorities around the world. The world would collapse without us.” He added that “those trashing us,” such as MSNBC’s Reid, “can go to hell.” [Twitter/X, 1/16/24]

    • Discussing the possibility of his becoming a member of Trump’s future Cabinet, Davis wrote, “I’m too controversial to get confirmed. But I want to become Trump’s viceroy of DC.” He claimed that some of his policies would be to “retrocede Arlington and Alexandria back into DC. (Republicans will win control of Virginia again.) And repeal the DC Home Rule Act of 1973. Carjackers and murderers will get hung.” [Twitter/X, 1/15/24]

    • Davis claimed Democrats are “bashing white Christians. And coddling the violent black (and Muslim) underclass.” He asserted that the party will “act stunned when you get crushed on November 5, 2024.” [GETTR, 1/15/24]

    • Responding to a supposed attempted robbery, Davis posted, “Now these animals are invading Woodley Park. Stay woke, DC.” [Twitter/X, 1/11/24]

    • Davis claimed that “Biden has (intentionally) allowed unvetted (and un-vettable) fighting-aged men from every trouble-spot on the planet to flood into the United States.” He claimed, “Trump brought us peace, safety, stability, and prosperity. Biden brought us war, crime, chaos, and despair.” [Twitter/X, 1/11/24]

    • On The Vince Coglianese Show, Davis argued that the House should not certify any votes from states where Trump was taken off the ballot, stating, “The House should not count any votes where they’ve used this bogus legal theory to disqualify a presidential candidate.” [Cumulus News Talk, The Vince Coglianese Show, 1/8/24]

    • Responding to a clip of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) refusing to commit to certifying the results of the 2024 election, Davis asked, “Why would anyone commit to certifying the results of an election before the election? That’s like a judge deciding a case before the trial. Idiotic.” [Twitter/X, 1/7/24]

    • In reponse to pro-Palestinian protesters blocking a freeway in Seattle during the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Davis posted, “Arrest. Charge. Convict. Imprison. Deport.” [Twitter/X, 1/6/24]

    • Davis posted, “Happy January 6th! These two good Americans were severely mistreated by a politicized and weaponized justice system,” next to photos of Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman,” and Adam Johnson, the man who removed the House Speaker’s lectern. Davis continued, “Let’s make a deal: We’ll pretend to care about January 6th. When Democrats pretend to care about the much-more deadly and destructive BLM and antifa riots. Or the threats of violence against Jews by Hamas supporters. Or the illegal obstruction campaigns by abortion activists.” [Twitter/X, 1/16/24, 1/6/24]

    • On Kimberly Guilfoyle’s show, Davis defended Trump from fraud charges as well as insurrection accusations and argued that special counsel Jack Smith and the Colorado Supreme Court are committing election interference. Davis said, “Jack Smith is trying to interfere in the election” and went on to claim President Joe Biden and the Justice Department “want President Trump in a courtroom instead of a campaign trail.” [Rumble, The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show, 1/5/24]

    • On Fox News, Davis called on the courts to shield Trump from legal repercussions. He told Laura Ingraham, “There's no question that if the D.C. circuit does not hold that the president of the United States, any president of the United States, does not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for his official actions or the outer perimeter of official actions, which is the current case law for civil immunity, there's no question the Supreme Court is going to have to take this case and establish that there is criminal immunity.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 1/4/24]

    • Davis made unfounded and racist statements against former Harvard President Claudine Gay, claiming, “This unqualified Black woman only got picked because of her skin pigment and genitals.” He added, “Americans are tired of #equity, DEI, and the rest of the Marxist nonsense.” [Twitter/X, 1/4/23]

    • Attacking Gay, Vice President Kamala Harris, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Davis posted, “Democrats must stop picking people for crucial jobs based upon skin pigment, genitals, attraction to genitals, or perception of genitals. That’s an idiotic—and discriminatory—way to do anything. Let alone run the most crucial institutions in the world.” [Twitter/X, 1/4/23]

    • On Steve Bannon’s War Room, Davis attacked Colorado judges who worked to remove Trump from the ballot, listing them by name. [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 12/20/23]

    • During an appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room, Davis said, “I would love to put [MSNBC journalist] Mehdi Hasan in a gulag.” [Lindell TV, War Room, 12/11/23]

    • Davis joined Salem Radio Group’s The Charlie Kirk Show to discuss a possible future Trump administration’s policy plans and fearmongered that “we’re losing our country to the left.” Davis claimed, “The Marxist left has taken over just about every institution in America, including the military, and they’re subversive, and they’re destroying our country from within. … That must be fixed.” [Salem Media Group, The Charlie Kirk Show, 12/8/23]

  • Boris Epshteyn

  • Boris Epshteyn

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Boris Epshteyn is a longtime adviser to Trump, having served on his 2016, 2020, and 2024 campaigns. According to Jon Karl’s book Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, Epshteyn was “widely viewed as one of Trump’s most sycophantic advisers.” Epshteyn is also the former chief political analyst for Sinclair Broadcast Group, where his “must-run” segments aired on local TV stations from 2017 to 2019. He is a frequent guest on Steve Bannon’s War Room, where he frequently engages in the election denialism that’s endemic to the show.

    Epshteyn is reportedly an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s alleged attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, he has been interviewed by federal prosecutors, and his cell phone was seized as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation. Epshteyn has separately faced other legal trouble; police records show he was arrested in 2021 for repeatedly groping two women at an Arizona nightclub.

    Epshteyn continues to claim Trump’s legal issues are tied to election interference and spouts other election-related conspiracy theories. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • Epshteyn called the New York fraud ruling against Donald Trump “an attack on America” and called the legal issues “nothing but a Biden directed witch hunt.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/16/24]
    • On Steve Bannon’s War Room, Epshteyn claimed that if the D.C. appeals court decision to deny Trump presidential immunity stands then “we’re not going to have a presidency in this country.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/6/24]

    • Epshteyn claimed E. Jean Carroll was lying and had destroyed “mountains and mountains of evidence” while speaking outside the courtroom where Trump’s defamation trial was taking place. He went on to say the trial was “a sham” and “crooked Joe Biden-driven election interference.” [Rumble, The Gateway Pundit, 1/18/24]

    • On War Room, Epshteyn argued that Trump’s indictments and civil fraud trial are for “political reasons and for election interference.” [Rumble, War Room, 1/12/24]

    • Speaking with former Trump official Sebastian Gorka, Epshteyn said Trump was successful in “ending the War on Christmas” in his first term, “and which President Trump will again end when he wins in November of 2024 and comes back to the White House.” [Rumble, America First with Sebastian Gorka, 12/15/23]

    • Epshteyn baselessly stated that Democrats and establishment Arizona Republicans were “stealing this election from MAGA, stealing it from the American people.” He added, “We’ve got to be fighting, we cannot be accepting the rigging and stealing of American elections. We’ve been talking about it for two years.” [Media Matters, 11/14/22]

  • Natalie Harp

  • image of Natalie Harp

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Natalie Harp is a former One America News Network anchor and current Trump campaign aide. As The Bulwark reported, Harp helps manage Trump’s Truth Social account and is also largely responsible for the content that the former president sees on a daily basis. She typically chooses stories related to alleged voter fraud and Trump’s adversaries within the Republican Party, and because of this role, she is particularly close to Trump. 

    In her position as an OAN host, Harp spread false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, hosted election denier candidates for state offices, and spread far-right rhetoric around education, immigration, and foreign policy. Harp left the network to work for Trump after her show earned praise from the former president. 

    • As an OAN host, Harp was a staunch 2020 election denier, pushing conspiracy theories in support of Trump including calling the Arizona election audit “America’s audit” and claiming dead people voted, votes were lost, and that there were tens of thousands of extra votes in Arizona. Harp helped lead the spread of false claims of election rigging on OAN. [Media Matters, 11/02/21, 9/16/21, 10/25/21]
    • During her time at OAN, Harp repeatedly hosted and boosted election denier candidates for state offices around the country. She hosted then-Arizona secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem and then-Michigan attorney general candidate Matt Deperno on her show multiple times. [Media Matters, 7/18/22]
    • During the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Harp implied that Trump could have prevented the war, saying that Putin “has respect for President Trump” while he knows that “Biden is weak and ineffective.” [Media Matters, 2/25/22]
    • Harp claimed a 2022 New York City law that allowed certain noncitizens to vote in local elections is part of a Democratic plan to rig elections. On her show she stated, “New York is doing the same thing, where they have noncitizens can vote now. This is something that they're moving forward with. We knew they were pushing for underage voters, felons. They really are trying to mobilize a different subset of people that shouldn't be allowed to vote, or at least have never  been allowed to vote before, but that’s the only way they win, through changing the rules, through changing who votes.” [Media Matters, 1/18/22]
    • Harp denounced Democrats for supposedly supporting “educational brainwashing.” She criticized government involvement in education, claiming that in “this new world order we’re living in, children aren’t seen as a gift from God, but as wards of the state.” [Media Matters, 11/3/21]
    • Harp also spread anti-refugee and anti-Indigenous rhetoric. In one segment she asked about Afghani refugees, “How do we have any guarantee that we're not simply paying for a first-class ticket to resettle certain radical Islamic terrorists right next door?” and in another she called Indigenous Peoples Day proof that “the people running our country, they do hate America at this point.” [Media Matters, 8/17/21, 11/24/21]
  • Karoline Leavitt

  • image of Karoline Leavitt

    Citation

    Molly Butler /  Media Matters

  • Karoline Leavitt is the national press secretary for the Trump 2024 campaign. She was previously a press office staffer in the Trump administration, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in New Hampshire in 2022. Bannon endorsed Leavitt, and she appeared on War Room numerous times during her campaign. Following Trump’s loss in 2020, Leavitt worked as communications director for Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY). Since becoming the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, Leavitt has repeatedly pushed the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory during media appearances.

    • On Fox & Friends Weekend, Leavitt said Trump’s hush money trial is “election interference.” Co-host Rachel Campos Duffy agreed, saying, “I think the American people see that.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, 4/14/24]
    • On Newsmax’s Wake Up America, Leavitt falsely claimed that “Joe Biden and the Democrats support aborting an unborn baby up until the moment of birth” and “many Democrats have also expressed abortion beyond that state, after the child is born.” She added, “That is infanticide. That is execution.” [Newsmax, Wake Up America, 4/8/24; 19th News, 8/21/23]
    • Leavitt repeated her abortion claim on Fox News @ Night, saying that Democrats “support abortions up until the moment of birth and they want taxpayers to fund it.” [Fox News, Fox News @ Night, 4/8/24]
    • On The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show, Leavitt claimed there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, saying that in the 2024 election “we’re going to have soldiers, poll watchers on the ground who are making sure that there are no irregularities and fraud like we saw in the last election.” [Rumble, The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show, 3/25/24]
    • Leavitt joined Newsmax’s Saturday Report and spread ”great replacement” conspiracy theory rhetoric claiming the Democrats “know that these 10 million illegal immigrants — probably more that have come into our country in the past three and a half years — will serve as very good voters for them in the future and future election cycles.” [Newsmax, Saturday Report, 3/16/24]
    • During an appearance on Fox News, Levitt pushed the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that Biden and the Democrats “need more votes, they want to boost their power of the electoral college and they're implementing a new voting demographic to do that, and putting the American citizen last.” [Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, 3/11/24]
    • In an appearance on OAN News, Leavitt attacked Joe Biden ahead of the State of the Union and claimed the Biden administration and Democrats “are purposefully allowing this mass invasion of nearly 10 million illegal people into our country” in order to create a “new constituency” of Democratic voters. [One America News Network, OAN News, 3/7/24]
    • That same day on The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show Leavitt said Democrats “are purposefully allowing this invasion of our country because they need a new voting demographic.” “The Democrats are the party of open borders. They are purposefully allowing this invasion of our country because they need a new voting demographic,” she said, adding, “That’s what this is about. They have no interest in securing our borders. They have on interest in removing and deporting illegal criminals who are murdering and raping and assaulting our citizens. They want those people here because they want more votes.” [Rumble, The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show, 3/7/24]
    • On Newsmax’s Wake Up America Leavitt again promoted the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming that Democrats “want this open border” because “they need to import an entire new voting demographic to keep them in power.” [Newsmax, Wake Up America, 2/29/24]
  • Laura Loomer

  • Loomer

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Laura Loomer is a far-right social media influencer and twice failed GOP congressional candidate in the state of Florida. Loomer has previously worked for far-right media companies such as Infowars and Project Veritas and is affiliated with extremist group the Proud Boys. In April 2023, Trump attempted to hire her in an official campaign capacity but was rebuffed by his own staff “given her history of inflammatory statements and her embrace of the Republican Party’s fringes.” Despite this backlash, she has regularly appeared with Trump and received praise from him at rallies and on social media. Donald Trump Jr. has floated Loomer as the next White House press secretary.

    Loomer is known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric, calling herself a “proud Islamophobe,” and for being banned from various social media, fundraising, and online purchasing platforms for violating their hate speech policies. She has said she is “pro-white nationalism."

    Loomer has continued spouting far-right conspiracy theories that are racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic. She also claims the 2024 presidential election will be stolen or rigged. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On her Rumble show, Laura Loomer called for the imprisonment of Jewish charity workers from HIAS, an organization that offers aid to migrants at the U.S. southern border. She also fearmongered about the aid organization on X, posting: “HIAS IS FACILITATING THE INVASION OF AMERICA AND THE GREAT REPLACEMENT!” [Loomer Unleashed, 2/28/24; Twitter/X, 2/20/24

    • On X, Loomer posted Islamaphobic statements about Ramadan, fearmongering that “jihadists” may “attack our country” during “Ramadan Bombathon.” “Ramadan starts tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if jihadists attack our country or escalate their attacks on Israel,” she posted. “There’s a reason why it’s called ‘Ramadan Bombathon’ in the Middle East. There is ALWAYS an escalation in Islamic terrorist attacks during Ramadan, and the media always ignores it.”  [Twitter/X, 3/9/24, 3/9/24
    • Loomer on anti-immigrant vigilante violence: “I'm not gonna care when it happens ... They're pushing people to the brink.” [Loomer Unleashed, 3/11/24]
    • In response to X users suggesting she should replace RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, Loomer said she would only take the job if she could be a “dictator,” stating, “We only have 9 months to save America.” [Twitter/X, 2/6/24, 2/6/24, 2/7/24]

    • On her podcast, Loomer went on a racist rant against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in which she referred to Omar as a “black dog” whose “district is literally Somalia.” [Loomer Unleashed, 2/1/24]

    • Loomer described Omar as a “dual loyalty jihadi” and “terrorist sympathizer” and criticized Republicans for enabling the “Islamic TAKEOVER of our government.” [Twitter/X, 1/31/24]

    • On her podcast, Loomer claimed that “so many rich Jews have a fixation on trying to destroy America.” She added, “I'm really sick and tired of watching all of these Jews with large amounts of money in our country donate to fund the destruction of our nation and the communist takeover of America.” [Media Matters, 1/30/24]

    • On X, Loomer wrote that “our country has been destroyed because of those acts of disloyalty” to Trump and that his supporters are at risk of being “sent to modern day, dissident concentration camps by the Biden regime.” She then equated Trump with the country at large, writing: “Given how bad things are now, If you are anti-Trump, you are essentially anti-America.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis quit the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Loomer accused him of being “a tool of the DOJ and Jack Smith to normalize the weaponization of government against President Trump.” She made similar accusations against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and claimed that “the deep state plans on killing Trump ahead of the July 2024 RNC Convention.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24, 1/18/24]

    • On X, Loomer argued against maternity leave and in favor of forced birth control for members of Congress. “People should decide if they want to be in Congress or be pregnant. Why should taxpayers have to pay for their reps to get pregnant?” she wrote, adding: “Maybe people will get mad at me for saying this, but if you’re in Congress you should be on birth control.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Loomer shared a conspiracy theory that the House Republican caucus was secretly working with the Democrats to trigger “a contingent election” in which “Congress chooses our next president.” “I truly believe @HouseGOP is intentionally trying to lose their majority,” she added. “House GOP clearly wants the Dems to take control before November 2024 so that they can continue persecuting President Trump. This is deliberate.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Loomer referred to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as “the illegitimate Alzheimer’s patient and the prostitute DEI VP who are occupying the White House.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Loomer promoted a conspiracy theory that Nikki Haley and the deep state would use the weather to “rig” the Iowa caucuses. [Media Matters, 1/12/24]

    • In an appearance on Timcast IRL, Loomer said: “The great replacement is not some conspiracy theory like the left-wing media wants it to be. ... It's very real.” [Media Matters, 1/13/24]

    • On her podcast, Loomer told her audience, “I will gladly accept the position of press secretary” in a Trump administration. [Rumble, Loomer Unleashed, 11/14/23]

    • Following Hamas’ attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, Loomer posted, “RESTORE THE ISLAMIC TERROR TRAVEL BAN!” and “DEPORT ALL JIHADIS.” [Twitter/X, 10/28/23]

  • John McEntee

  • image of John McEntee on red and black background

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • John McEntee served as a personal aide to former President Trump and later as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, where he was in charge of vetting potential political appointees. Under his leadership, the office sought to purge the executive branch of federal government employees who were not sufficiently loyal to Trump. In the weeks before January 6, McEntee backed Trump’s attempts to stay in office after losing the 2020 election, helped staff the administration with loyalists willing to defend Trump’s anti-democratic actions, and sent a memo to former Vice President Mike Pence encouraging him to not certify the results of the presidential election. After leaving the White House in 2021, McEntee founded The Right Stuff, a Peter Thiel-funded dating app for conservatives, which happens to share its name with a prominent white supremacist, neo-fascist website. In TikTok videos promoting the app, McEntee downplayed the January 6 insurrection. In May 2023, he joined the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 as a senior advisor.

    McEntee has infrequently appeared on political podcasts to discuss how a second Trump administration might be staffed. 

    • In an interview with Michael Knowles on dating culture, McEntee said a video of a woman on TikTok explaining why she doesn’t date conservative men made him “rethink the 19th Amendment.” [YouTube, 5/7/24]
    • McEntee complained that Americans whose parents are not citizens are able to vote. He claimed, “It's just crazy that we allow this.” [Dirty Water Boys, Diving Deep, 5/1/24]
    • In an interview with The Momentum Podcast, McEntee said Project 2025 “is in charge of staffing the next administration should Trump win.” [The Momentum Podcast, 4/26/24]
    • In an interview on The Daily Wire’s Morning Wire podcast, McEntee told the hosts the Project 2025 initiative will “integrate a lot of our work” with the Trump campaign later this year. [Daily Wire, Morning Wire, 4/21/24]
    • During an appearance on the podcast of a prominent lobbying firm, McEntee said “sometimes experience is bad” and that “being aligned with the [White House] agenda” was a more important factor in hiring executive branch personnel. McEntee also claimed “a lot of the people in our movement might be too crazy to work there [in the White House].” [13th and Park, streamed on YouTube, 2/2/24]
    • McEntee also discussed ideas for a second Trump term with the Heritage Project’s Kevin Roberts telling him, “I think we need to give the executive more power.” He also argued the President should be able to fire any employee in the executive branch, comparing being President to being a corporate CEO saying “the President is not checked within his own branch by his own staff.” [The Kevin Roberts Show, 1/31/24]

  • Jason Miller

  • Jason Miller

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Jason Miller is a longtime Trump aide currently serving as a top adviser and spokesperson for his 2024 reelection campaign. Like Steve Bannon, Miller has close ties with Chinese business mogul Miles Guo, and he was the CEO at Gettr, Guo’s social media platform. Miller told the House January 6 committee that he agreed that Trump had lost the 2020 election, but he has frequently cast doubt on the results in public.

    Miller frequently claims that Biden, the Democrats, or other groups are working to rig or steal the presidential election. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On X, Miller claimed that President Joe Biden “is a disaster and has done more damage to the African American community than any president in modern history.” Miller added that “Biden is now trying to gaslight Black Americans with misleading attacks, but everybody knows we were better off with President Trump.” [Twitter/X, 1/8/23]

    • Miller tweeted that Biden is “trying to imprison his leading political opponent as if we were a third-world banana republic.” [Twitter/X, 1/5/23]

    • Referencing efforts to remove Trump from the ballot in Maine and Colorado, Miller wrote that “tens of millions of Americans” are being disenfranchised “by a weaponized justice system.” [Twitter/X, 1/5/23]

    • Ahead of the 2024 election, Miller told former Trump official Sebastian Gorka that “we have to be ready for them [Democrats] to pull the exact same nonsense” as 2020. He continued, “They’re going to do everything they can to rig, steal, try to change the rules of the game.” [Salem, America First with Sebastian Gorka, 1/4/24]

    • Sharing a New York Post article saying that Democrats are trying to remove Republicans from the ballot nationwide, Miller wrote, “Joe Biden and the Democrats are a real-time threat to democracy.” [Twitter/X, 1/4/23]

    • Sharing a Trump campaign video on X, Miller wrote, “Joe Biden has created Chaos and Weakness on our Southern Border. President Trump is going to stop it.” [Twitter/X, 12/29/23]

    • Miller tweeted, “It’s almost like Biden actually wants to see lawless, unvetted illegals pour into the U.S.” [Twitter/X, 12/19/23]

    • Seemingly in response to the Colorado Supreme Court ruling to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, Miller tweeted, “ELECTION INTERFERENCE!” [Twitter/X, 12/19/23; The Associated Press, 12/19/23]

    • Miller alleged a “direct connection between the ruling in Colorado” removing Trump from the ballot “and President Trump posting his largest lead ever over Joe Biden today.” He continued, “Watching Democrats resort to lawfare that disenfranchises millions of Americans to win an election is quite stunning.” [Twitter/X, 12/19/23]

  • Stephen Miller

  • Stephen Miller

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Stephen Miller is one of Trump’s longest serving advisers and speechwriters. He was behind some of the administration’s most notorious policies, including the so-called Muslim ban and family separation policy. After Trump’s defeat, Miller launched America First Legal, a legal nonprofit attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion policies as part of the conservative culture wars. (According to a report from The Daily Beast, America First Legal spent 85% of its $35 million budget on advertising rather than its promised lawsuits fighting “anti-white bigotry.")

    Miller is expected to serve in a senior capacity in a second Trump administration as the chief architect of Trump’s retribution agenda targeting migrants, creating a policy plan to use the U.S. military to carry out the mass detention and deportation of migrants. He regularly appears in the right-wing media to push the white supremacist “great replacement” theory, and former Fox host Tucker Carlson has advocated for Miller to lead the Department of Justice.

    Miller maintains his extreme positions on immigration, frequently fearmongering about the southern border, blaming Biden for the immigration crisis, and pushing right-wing conspiracy theories. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On Eric Bolling The Balance, Miller claimed that Biden is “dumping” “illegal aliens” in blue states to give Democrats more House seats and Electoral College votes. [Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, 5/9/24]
    • In an interview on Fox News, Miller stated about Biden’s immigration policies, “If you import the Third World, you become the Third World." [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 4/12/24]
    • On Rob Schmitt Tonight, Miller discussed Trump deportation policy, claiming, “We had the most efficient removal operation of any Western nation in the world,” and “President Trump is going to use state, local, federal and military assets, such as the National Guard, in order to effectuate this mass removal program.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 4/11/24]
    • On The Benny Johnson Show, Miller praised Texas' unconstitutional racial profiling bill S.B. 4 that would allow police officers to detain people “suspected” of being illegal immigrants. [The Benny Johnson Show, 3/21/24; American Civil Liberties Union, 3/27/24]
    • On Eric Bolling The Balance, Miller told host Eric Bolling that Gazans are a “radicalized” population and claimed if the U.S. accepts refugees from Gaza, “you create a domestic Gaza Strip.” Miller added that accepting refugees would be part of Biden’s plan to “placate what he sees as the Islamist faction.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, 5/1/24]
    • Miller joined Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle and spread anti-immigrant conspiracies. He claimed the Biden administration’s plan is to “send airplanes to foreign countries like Haiti, fill them up with illegals, and then fly them into swing states.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 5/10/24]
    • In an interview with former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, Miller fearmongered about undocumented immigrants voting in American elections, claiming it’s a “very deliberate effort” by the Biden administration. Miller also called Biden’s immigration policies “an invasion by design.” [Rumble, Liberty & Justice with Matt Whitaker, 5/13/24]
    • While fearmongering about Palestinian refugees on Life, Liberty, & Levin, Miller claimed accepting refugees from Gaza would “bring the Gaza strip to America,” and “turn the Midwest into the Middle East.” [Fox News, Life, Liberty, & Levin, 5/19/24]
    • Miller praised Texas’ unconstitutional racial profiling immigration bill SB4, calling it “ an example of a Texas legislature doing something great.” Miller went on to tell host Benny Johnson, “The right needs to either get serious about using government power to save this country or there won't be a country to save.” [Media Matters, 3/22/24]

    • Miller described the Biden administration’s use of parole for migrants as a “LICENSE TO KILL.” [Twitter/X, 3/3/24]

    • In response to a Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) post that described a Biden-backed immigration proposal as “mass amnesty,” Miller posted, “That’s been the plan from the beginning: make them all into voting citizens, no matter the price. No matter the cost. No matter the carnage.” [Twitter/X, 2/29/24]
    • Miller posted: “2024 will be a simple choice: MASS IMPORTATION or MASS DEPORTATION.” [Twitter/X, 2/29/24]
    • Miller wrote: “Democrats are determined to let predators flood into our country: spilling precious American blood to achieve their sinister resettlement project. Monstrous. Wicked. Unforgivable.” [Twitter/X, 2/28/24]
    • Miller argued that “Biden should be removed from the ballot in all fifty states for orchestrating the border invasion.” [Twitter/X, 2/28/24]
    • During a CPAC panel, Miller advised conservatives to “write the laws so it protects your friends and harms the bad guys, otherwise, you're handing them a sword to run right through you.” Miller was specifically advocating to use the law to “go after the big corporate media.” [Media Matters, 2/23/24]

    • During the same panel, Miller described his plan to round up migrants into camps to deport them. He said, “You grab illegal immigrants, and then you move them to the staging grounds, and that’s where the planes are waiting.” [Media Matters, 2/23/24]

    • Miller told Fox host Laura Ingraham: “We’ve entered a brave new world now, where in the not-too-distant future, illegal aliens will be arresting American citizens.” Miller added, “The federal government's job is to keep illegal aliens from working.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 2/14/24]

    • On The Charlie Kirk Show, Miller told guest host Andrew Kolvet that the Biden administration is working to “release as many illegal aliens into the country as possible” and then “convert” them “into citizens.” Miller also claimed “I don’t care what the hell happens in this world. If President Trump gets reelected, the border is gonna be sealed.” [Salem Media, The Charlie Kirk Show, 2/5/24]

    • On X, Miller fearmongered that “foreign nations and terrorist armies could smuggle entire divisions into the U.S. without the slightest resistance.” [Twitter/X, 1/26/24]

    • On Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Miller argued that the Biden administration is working “every single day to maintain the policy of mass resettlement of illegal aliens all across the United States of America, including for the first time in history, of single adult men.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 1/19/24]

    • Miller posted that Joe Biden “willfully and deliberately unleashed hell on earth” through his immigration policies and should be impeached. [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Miller wrote: “In 2022, Biden voluntarily released an adult male illegal alien into the U.S. who is now charged with raping a disabled person. This is the immigration policy Democrats are defending and protecting.” [Twitter/X, 1/18/24]

    • Miller joined Fox News’ Hannity to discuss the New Hampshire primary and claimed, “If you want to save American democracy in 2024, then your only hope and prayer is to vote for Donald Trump.” [Fox News, Hannity, 1/17/24]

    • On X, Miller claimed: “Joe Biden is leading a deadly insurrection on the Southern Border in order to remake the American electorate and disenfranchise the American citizen.” [Twitter/X, 1/17/24]

    • On Fox News, Miller fearmongered about the effects of immigration on the U.S., claiming: “The events that are happening now on our border typically take place after suffering crippling military defeat.” [Fox News, Life, Liberty & Levin, 1/14/24]

    • Miller joined Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle to discuss immigration in Texas, saying that American taxpayers must “stop funding our own destruction” through Biden’s border policies. [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 1/12/24]

    • Miller posted: “The Biden Administration is voluntarily and deliberately releasing illegals into America by the millions.” He claimed, “They are choosing, purposefully and maliciously, to resettle and relocate the developing world inside the US.” [Twitter/X, 1/3/24]

    • On Fox News’ Hannity, Miller claimed that “Joe Biden is waging war against America’s national security” with his immigration policies. [Fox News, Hannity, 1/2/24]

    • Miller posted: “The Democrat Party is openly sabotaging the 2024 election while throwing people in jail for questioning their conduct of the 2020 election.” [Twitter/X, 12/29/23]

    • Sharing video of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, Miller posted, “To those who say officeholders do not posses immunity, nor protection from prosecution by local jurisdictions, those involved in perpetuating this invasion are susceptible to a great many criminal charges.” [Twitter/X, 12/19/23]

    • On Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Miller pushed the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory, calling immigration “the engineered political transformation of the country” and claiming, “We are being conquered. This is a complete resettlement of America in real time.” [Fox News. Jesse Watters Primetime, 12/19/23]

  • Kash Patel

  • KPatel

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Kash Patel held various national security positions in the Trump administration, serving on the National Security Council and as chief of staff to acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller at the end of the term. He was also reportedly almost installed as acting CIA director in the lead-up to the January 6 insurrection, when Trump deemed certain members of his administration insufficiently loyal in his effort to overturn the election.

    Patel also appears to be a key source for the false claim that Trump attempted to deploy 20,000 National Guard troops to protect the U.S. Capitol prior to January 6. And he was reportedly involved in feeding Trump “negative information about Ukraine” ahead of his 2019 call with President Volodymyr Zelensky during which Trump threatened to withhold aid to the country, resulting in his first impeachment. Patel was also in charge of the Pentagon’s transition to the Biden administration team.

    Patel has a history of pushing misinformation to further right-wing causes. He is closely tied to the QAnon movement and has praised the conspiracy theory’s supporters. He is also a regular on Steve Bannon’s War Room, where the host has floated him as a potential CIA director or as head of the Defense or State Department in a second Trump term. In November 2022, Patel announced that he would be touring the country as a Trump campaign surrogate for the 2024 presidential election.

    Leading up to the 2024 election, Patel has pushed Trump’s potential retribution plans, claimed that the election will be stolen, and made recommendations for a possible second Trump administration. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • Patel posted multiple times about the Nevada caucus ballots being rigged against Donald Trump. In one Truth Social post, Patel wrote, “this is what you do on the mail in ballot rigging hoax.” Nevada held state primaries on February 6 and a caucus on February 8. Donald Trump did not participate in the primary where Nikki Haley lost to “none of these candidates” and Haley did not participate in the caucuses. [Truth Social, 1/20/24, 2/5/24, 2/5/24; CBS News, 2/7/24]

    • On The Charlie Kirk Show, Patel declared that Trump was “totally innocent” of involvement in the January 6 insurrection and repeated the false claim that he’d ordered National Guard troops to protect the Capitol. [Salem Radio, The Charlie Kirk Show, 1/16/24]

    • On Truth Social, Patel criticized Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade for supposedly “hijacking ... our legal system for political weaponization” in prosecuting Trump. [Truth Social, 1/16/24]

    • On America First with Sebastian Gorka, Patel decried “Chris Wray’s ideology that has been created by Merrick Garland for one reason, to rig presidential elections.” Criticizing comments by Chris Matthews on MSNBC, Patel said, “This is what you get when you’re on a panel with race-hustling thugs like Al Sharpton.” [Rumble, America First with Sebastian Gorka, 12/28/23]

    • On Bannon’s War Room, Patel defended Trump’s actions on January 6: “Trump did not commit insurrection — he did not even come close.” He went on to claim that “Trump acted proactively to secure Congress.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 12/20/23]

    • On Bannon’s War Room, Patel confirmed Trump’s second term retribution plans to retaliate against the press: “We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media.” Patel specifically cited media figures who “who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” [Media Matters, 12/5/23]

    • Patel and former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) specifically appealed to QAnon extremists to build a user base for Trump’s right-wing social networking site Truth Social. [Media Matters, 8/1/22]

    • Before California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy became speaker, Patel said he would like to see Trump as speaker of the House. [Media Matters, 1/4/23]

    • Patel spoke at a ReAwaken America Tour stop at Trump’s Miami resort that also featured an antisemitic influencer who has said the Nazis were merely “protecting their sovereignty” from Jewish people. [Media Matters, 10/16/23]

  • Kevin Roberts

  • Kevin Roberts

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Kevin Roberts is president of the Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank behind the Project 2025 effort to provide staffing and policy papers for the next Republican administration. Under Roberts’ tenure, which began in 2021, Heritage has increasingly turned to fringe right-wing media to maintain relevance in the conservative ecosystem and stave off new competitors.

    Roberts has pushed numerous hard-right positions at Heritage, including eliminating the Department of Education and signing onto the Convention of States, a fringe movement to weaken the federal government’s regulatory power and ability to protect civil rights. He also has endorsed the unitary executive theory, which holds that the president has the almost unlimited power to control the federal judiciary. Notably, Roberts has falsely claimed President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election.

    Roberts has promoted the Project 2025 ideas during media appearances and on X, especially regarding immigration policy and removing Biden administration officials. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • On Rob Schmitt Tonight, Roberts accused nongovernmental organizations of giving fake residency papers to undocumented migrants, saying the solution is to “deport every illegal alien who's come into this country.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 4/3/24]

    • In an interview with The New York Times, Roberts praised far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, calling him a “very impressive leader” and saying his work to make Hungary a more conservative country “should be celebrated.” [The New York Times, 1/21/24]

    • Roberts also told The New York Times that “at least some” of Sen. Joe McCarthy’s “tactics” to stamp out political opponents during the 1950s Red Scare “were terrible, but what he got right was the motivation.” [The New York Times, 1/21/24]

    • On Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, Roberts claimed that “the American people … are ready for [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas to be impeached and removed from office” over “the crisis at the southern border.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 1/18/24]

    • Roberts posted to X that the Biden administration's border policies are “destructive” and wrote, “The conservative movement must take action to force the gov. to do its job: protect the American people & secure the homeland.” [Twitter/X, 12/21/23]

    • Roberts posted: “Years of backroom deals and weakness from Congress have given us the worst illegal immigration crisis in American history.” Roberts repeated the same language in a statement to Fox News on immigration. [Twitter/X, 12/14/23; FoxNews.com, 12/14/23]

    • Roberts posted to X: “The Left's infiltration of our institutions, exemplified by the Marxist cultural rot in #highered, cannot be placated. It must be decisively defeated.” [Twitter/X, 12/13/23]

    • On X, Roberts called for defunding “elite” universities: “Calling for the resignation of their presidents is righteous, but not enough. Defund them. Americans should not be forced to fund their enemies.” [Twitter/X, 12/11/23]

  • Donald Trump Jr.

  • DJT jr

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Donald Trump Jr. is the eldest child of Donald Trump and host of Triggered on right-wing video platform Rumble. He served as a political adviser during the Trump 2016 campaign and later took over the Trump Organization with his brother Eric. (Both Trump sons were later found liable for civil fraud, along with their father.)

    Trump Jr. was also instrumental in post-2020 election denial, notably texting then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows suggestions of ways to keep his father in power two days after the election, writing, “We have multiple paths. We control them all.” On January 6, 2021, he pushed Meadows to have his father condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol, but he has since downplayed its severity, mockingly calling its anniversary “Fake Insurrection Day.”

    Trump Jr. heavily promotes his father’s reelection campaign, pushing his talking points online and recently calling for Republican attorneys general to remove Joe Biden from the ballot in their states. On social media and his podcast, he has promoted the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, white nationalists, and QAnon supporters.

    Trump Jr. has pushed suggestions for his father’s potential future administration alongside frequent anti-LGBTQ attacks and supported right-wing conspiracy theories such as January 6 revisionism. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • Trump Jr. told The Hill that Tucker Carlson is “certainly ... a contender” for vice president if his father is reelected. [The Hill, 1/18/24]

    • During his live coverage of the Iowa caucuses on Rumble, Trump Jr. said immigrants “dilute” the American population. [Rumble, Triggered with Donald Trump Jr., 1/15/24]

    • Trump Jr. praised a video of mixed martial arts fighter Sean Strickland making anti-LGBTQ comments, calling it “amazing” and adding, “If there were more people willing to talk to the Press like this, they’re bullshit wouldn’t be nearly as pervasive.” [Twitter/X, 1/17/24]

    • Trump Jr. accused January 6 participant Ray Epps (a frequent target of right-wing conspiracy theories) of being part of a “#Fedsurrection,” posting on X that Epps “gets probation, a $500 fine and is able to phone into his sentencing?!? Are you fricken kidding me? Yea guys, he totally wasn’t put there to incite things by the feds. Our country is screwed… the traitors in charge aren’t even pretending anymore.” [Twitter/X, 1/9/24; NBC News, 9/19/23]

    • Trump Jr. fearmongered on X that “DEI indoctrination is infiltrating US Service Academies and brainwashing our future military leaders!!!!” [Twitter/X, 1/8/24]

    • On his Rumble show, Trump Jr. called immigration “the great replacement reality of what the Democrats are trying to do.” [Rumble, Triggered with Donald Trump Jr., 1/1/24]

    • Trump Jr. shared a graph of supposed “illegal immigrant encounters” under Biden and commented: “tHe gReAt RePLacemEnT tHeOry is A MYth!!!!!!!” [Twitter/X, 1/7/24]

    • Trump Jr. quoted a post from Libs of TikTok, adding: “Per capita is there a more violent group of people anywhere in the world than radicalized trans activists?” He added: “Given the tiny fraction of the population that they make up it doesn’t seem like anyone else even comes close.” [Twitter/X, 1/4/24]

    • Speaking on his Rumble show, Trump Jr. called QAnon supporters “patriotic Americans.” [Rumble, Triggered with Donald Trump Jr., 12/28/23]

    • On his Rumble show, Trump Jr. said he wanted to see Alex Jones in a second Trump administration, possibly as press secretary for “two weeks to a month” to “put these idiots in their place.” [Newsweek, 12/29/23]

    • On Newsmax, Trump Jr. said that “if Claudine Gay was a straight white male, she wouldn't keep her job at Harvard.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, 12/12/23]

    • On his Rumble show, Trump Jr. told white nationalist Douglass Mackey that he “may be my favorite Twitter account of all time.” Mackey, who has tweeted that Jewish people have “control of the media,” was convicted of election interference during the 2016 presidential election. [Media Matters, 12/12/23]

    • Trump Jr. shared a post from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) claiming that the United Nations “perpetuates child rape,” adding, “As if we needed another reason to defund the UN.” [Twitter/X, 12/7/23]

  • Lara Trump

  • image of Lara Trump

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Lara Trump is Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and host of the podcast The Right View. After serving as a political adviser to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign, Trump joined Fox News as a contributor. She briefly guest hosted various Newsmax shows in 2023. In 2024 she became co-chair of the RNC alongside Michael Whatley and has integrated the committee with the Trump campaign. As co-chair Trump has reportedly continued to push false claims that the 2020 election was stolen or rigged, claimed that votes should not be counted past election day (even though she has also pushed mail-in voting to Republican voters), and proposed hiring QAnon conspiracy theorist Scott Presler to the RNC.

    • Trump said, “It’s pretty obvious that Donald Trump does accept election results, even despite the fact that it was a very questionable election in 2020.” [Newsmax, Eric Bolling The Balance, 5/9/24]
    • In an interview with Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo, Trump claimed, “You cannot have ballots counted, Maria, after elections are over,” while discussing the Trump campaign’s lawsuit seeking to invalidate mail-in ballots Nevada counted after Election Day. [The Daily Beast, 5/5/24]
    • Bartiromo mentioned reports that immigrants arriving in the U.S. are “being given voting forms” and Trump agreed that that’s “happening in America.” “You have Joe Biden … flying people illegally into this country,” she said. “Why, Maria, would you want people who are not American citizens to have any ability to vote? Why would you want to get them in here so quickly? Why would you want no voter ID in states across this country? … It’s because you know you can’t actually win an election on the Democrat side of the aisle.” [Fox Business, Mornings with Maria Bartiromo, 5/2/24]
    • On her podcast, Trump said that she doesn't believe 81 million people voted for Biden in the 2020 election. [The Right View with Lara Trump, 4/17/24]
    • Trump said Trump’s New York criminal trial was orchestrated “to keep Donald Trump from the campaign trail.” [Fox News, Hannity, 4/14/24]
    • In April, after trying to hire QAnon conspiracy theorist Scott Presler, Trump announced that the Republican National Committee is partnering with Presler's organization “in every way we possibly can.” Presler was also previously linked to lewd photos posted to Craigslist allegedly taken in an RNC office in 2016. [Media Matters, 3/18/24; Media Matters, 3/21/24; Media Matters, 4/16/24]
  • Russ Vought

  • Russ Vought

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Russ Vought is a Christian nationalist who served as head of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, and he worked to implement Schedule F — a policy to remove job protections from career staffers — in the administration’s final weeks. After Trump’s loss, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a right-wing think tank that is a key organization in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. The group aims to staff the next Republican administration with an army of Christian nationalists.

    Vought has endorsed using ideological purity tests under Schedule F to make it easier to fire civil servants who don’t share his extremist views. In late 2022, Vought and CRA released a proposed budget to combat the “woke and weaponized” federal government that is also a blueprint for how a second Trump administration might unleash the FBI on the disgraced former president’s political enemies. Vought has also advised House Republicans on how to leverage government funding showdowns to enact severe social spending cuts.

    Vought has recently complained about the Biden administration’s immigration policy, pushed Project 2025 policy ideas, and attacked GOP leadership. Here's a list of these and other such commentary:

    • Vought promoted Christian nationalism during an appearance on War Room, claiming, “We were meant to be a Christian nation,” adding, “Western civilization does not work without the underpinnings of a Judeo-Christian worldview that is the bedrock for all of our laws.” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 2/21/24]

    • Vought appeared on The Charlie Kirk Show and said that government shutdowns “have always been either a net positive or a win” for the GOP. [Salem Media Group, The Charlie Kirk Show, 1/9/24]

    • On X, Vought’s organization, Center for Renewing America, posted: “Thousands of illegal migrants are waiting to be processed in Eagle Pass, TX. This is a state-sanctioned INVASION!” [Twitter/X, 12/20/23]

    • The account also cited the removal of a Civil War monument from Arlington Cemetery as evidence that “our nation’s history is being erased in the name of Critical Race Theory.” [Twitter/X, 12/18/23]

    • The Center for Renewing America posted a video of migrants — whom it called “illegal invaders” — supposedly waiting for a train from Mexico to the U.S., claiming that the “Biden Border Crisis is BY DESIGN!” [Twitter/X, 12/15/23]

    • Vought argued in favor of a House rule change that would allow Congress to politically target, and strip the salaries of, individual career civil servants. [Media Matters, 1/12/23]

    • Vought referred to Christian nationalism as a “boogie man,” and argued that coverage of it will result in a “renewed consensus that the ‘US is a Christian nation & the country’s laws should therefore be rooted in Christian values.’” [Twitter/X, 2/13/23]

    • Vought’s organization released a budget in December 2022 that called for the elimination of “funding for the recent hiring of 87,000 new IRS agents.” The document falsely claimed a new wave of IRS agents would target “hardworking Americans and struggling families in a craven effort to sustain the broader bureaucracy’s radical progressive agenda.” [Media Matters, 1/10/24]

    • Vought wrote a chapter of Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership” in which he claimed that “many agencies are not only too big and powerful, but also increasingly weaponized against the public and a President who is elected by the people and empowered by the Constitution to govern.” [Media Matters, 11/9/23]

    • Last April, Vought told NBC News: “I think Schedule F is basically doctrine now on the right.” Meanwhile, several articles from mainstream outlets about Vought failed to inform readers about his deep commitments to Christian nationalism. [NBC News, 4/26/23; Media Matters, 4/27/23]

  • Liz Harrington

  • Liz Harrington

    Citation

    Molly Butler / Media Matters

  • Liz Harrington is a former Republican National Committee official and conservative journalist. She served as former President Trump’s spokesperson beginning in June 2021, and reportedly left the Trump campaign in February 2024. She was a key mouthpiece for the stolen election lie after Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential race, falsely claiming there was “major fraud.” Before working for the RNC, Harrington worked at right-wing news outlets like the Washington Free Beacon and CNS News. She later served as the editor-in-chief at Steve Bannon’s War Room. Last year, Harrington attacked Fox News and the Murdochs, saying, “that fake news network”  wanted to destroy Trump. Harrington also has a history of making transphobic comments and adopting anti-LGBTQ positions, including supporting a ban on trans people serving in the military.

    While promoting false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, Harrington often asserts that the upcoming 2024 presidential election is being rigged against Trump or will be stolen by the Democrats. Here is a sampling of those comments and others

    • Harrington has repeatedly made unfounded claims that the Biden administration is coordinating with prosecutors against Donald Trump to interfere in the upcoming election through lawsuits. On X, she called Trump’s legal battles in Georgia “coordinated election interference with the Biden White House.” In another post on X, Harrington claimed Attorney General Merrick Garland “wants the Show Trials of his regime’s number one political opponent in the middle of the 2024 Election” and suggested the prosecution of Trump was “for corrupt government actors to interfere in the People’s elections!” In an appearance on The Gateway Pundit’s Gateway: Beyond the Headline, Harrington called Trump’s legal issues “a sham case” and a chance for Democrats to secure a “sham conviction and try to interfere in the election.” [Twitter/X, 1/9/24, 1/19/24; The Gateway Pundit's Gateway: Beyond the Headline, 1/10/24]

    • On The Steve Gruber Show, Harrington said the Biden administration is “trying to steal an election.” [Real America’s Voice, The Steve Gruber Show, 1/3/24]

    • Harrington pushed debunked claims that the 2020 election was stolen, posting, “It has often been repeated there is ‘no evidence’ of fraud in the 2020 Election. In actuality, there is no evidence Joe Biden won.” [Twitter/X, 1/2/24]

    • Attacking the special counsel investigating Trump, Harrington said it was “obvious” that “Jack Smith is a political actor engaging in election interferences on behalf of the regime.” [Twitter/X, 12/12/23]

    • During a 2022 OAN appearance, Harrington claimed that Democrats “don’t want to muck up the [election] process that they have right now, which is systemic widespread fraud.” [OAN, Tipping Point, 8/11/22]