Politics
NewsOnScale Staff
October 8, 2026
For years, Donald Trump told his supporters that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, James Comey, Anthony Fauci, and a rotating cast of officials and political opponents were part of a corrupt deep state that had weaponized the government against him and against the American people.
He promised accountability. He promised prosecutions. He promised to drain the swamp.
He has been president for 21 months of his second term. None of the people he named are in prison. Most aren't even under active federal investigation.
Hillary Clinton has not been prosecuted. Obama has not been investigated. Fauci, who Trump repeatedly attacked over COVID policy, retired and moved on. James Comey, fired by Trump in 2017 and long accused of leading a corrupt FBI, has not been charged with anything. Andrew McCabe, Christopher Steele, and the other names Trump mentioned over years of rallies remain uncharged.
The one significant prosecution of Trump's stated enemies — the special counsel investigation of Biden's handling of classified documents — was dropped when Biden pardoned himself before leaving office. Trump's DOJ did not find a workaround.
What Trump has done with DOJ is different from what he promised. He has used federal law enforcement against political opponents who are current threats — prosecutors who pursued him, judges who ruled against him, officials who crossed him in his second term. Kash Patel's FBI has fired agents connected to investigations of Trump and pursued what critics call a campaign of retribution against those who acted against him personally.
The original deep state enemies — the ones from the rally chants — have been largely left alone.
Whether that represents pragmatism, deals made behind closed doors, or simply the difference between campaign rhetoric and governing is a question Trump has never answered directly.
His supporters are still waiting for the prosecutions he promised. His stated enemies are still free.
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