Illustration: Damon Dahlen/HuffPost; Photos: GettyPresident Donald Trump believes in a conspiracy theory. The idea of a secret deep state that outlasts presidential administrations and operates by its own hidden directives predates the Trump administration. If true, which it’s not, this conspiracy theory would mean that Trump is the victim of a loathsome and wide-ranging conspiracy. Until recently, it was possible to argue that Trump doesn’t actually believe this conspiracy theory, but was simply spreading it to rile up his base. What President Trump asked for on that call did not appear to be the result of any sort of policy process.

Source: Huffington Post October 02, 2019 00:56 UTC