Trump picks hardliner Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel
GuardianNOV 2024
Trump Appoints John Ratcliffe as CIA Director
Above: John Ratcliffe speaks during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in Washington, DC, on April 18, 2023. Image copyright: Al Drago/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Spin
Republican narrative
After years of US intelligence agencies actively working against the American people, Trump is appointing officials who care about national security and constitutional rights. Ratcliffe was one of the leading players in exposing the lies surrounding the Russia collusion hoax and the genuine Hunter Biden laptop scandal. The country deserves a CIA director who goes after bad guys abroad, not good guys at home.
Democratic narrative
While Ratcliffe may finally have some national security experience, he is still a partisan politician at heart. After declassifying faulty Russian intelligence to hurt Clinton, the American people can expect more of the same as he enters an arguably more powerful role. CIA employees are going to be very cautious around this politically motivated appointee.