{"id":2630948,"date":"2026-07-17T00:26:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-deep-state-speech-draws-pushback-from-warner-over-ratcliffe-role\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T00:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T04:31:24","slug":"trumps-deep-state-speech-draws-pushback-from-warner-over-ratcliffe-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-deep-state-speech-draws-pushback-from-warner-over-ratcliffe-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s &#8216;deep state&#8217; speech draws pushback from Warner over Ratcliffe role"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrumps-deep-state-speech-draws-pushback-from-warner-over-ratcliffe-role%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2630948&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Mark Warner criticized President Donald Trump\u2019s Thursday night speech on election interference, questioning CIA Director John Ratcliffe\u2019s role overseeing election intelligence during Trump&#8217;s frist term. Trump addressed concerns about alleged Chinese interference in the 2020 election, claiming that the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-ag-barr-create-durham-special-counsel-to-prevent-president-trump-from-releasing-information-related-to-crossfire-hurricane\/\" title=\"Did AG Barr Create Durham Special Counsel to Prevent ... from Releasing Information Related to Crossfire Hurricane?\">deep state<\/a>&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brothers-were-falsely-convicted-of-rape-murder-and-spent-31-years-in-prison-they-each-just-received-31-million-in-damages\/\" title=\"Brothers Were Falsely Convicted Of Rape, Murder And Spent 31 Years In Prison. They Each Just Received  Million In Damages.\">suppressed evidence<\/a> of China&#8217;s involvement, including a claim of the theft of 220 million U.S. voter files. Warner highlighted a 2021 intelligence report indicating high confidence that China did not interfere in the election, but Ratcliffe dissented, arguing China attempted to influence the outcome.Warner pointed out the irony that Ratcliffe, as Director of National Intelligence, approved the consensus view that there was no foreign interference. Ratcliffe responded by affirming his disagreement with the 2021 assessment and emphasizing China\u2019s efforts to influence elections. Democratic Senators jon Ossoff and Elissa Slotkin criticized Trump\u2019s speech, with Ossoff accusing him of seeking excuses and Slotkin warning about potential threats to election integrity, including possible military interventions. California Governor Gavin NewsomAlso called Trump\u2019s remarks a \u201c25th Amendment moment,\u201d condemning his efforts to undermine election processes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mark-warner\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1352\">Mark Warner<\/a> (D-VA) pushed back on President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2018s Thursday night speech on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/election-interference\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4586\">election interference<\/a> by questioning CIA Director <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-ratcliffe\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3025\">John Ratcliffe<\/a>\u2018s role overseeing election intelligence as Trump\u2019s first-term director of national intelligence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump made a highly anticipated address to the nation on Thursday night, during which he claimed that the Beltway <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4652706\/trump-deep-state-china-2020-election\/\">\u201cdeep state\u201d suppressed\u00a0attempts<\/a> from <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"232\">China<\/a> to interfere in the<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2020-elections\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"228\"> 2020 election<\/a>. Trump announced the declassification of intelligence documents he said supported his claims of Chinese interference and his claim that the deep state \u201cworked to actively suppress and downplay information about the extent of China\u2019s sinister election meddling,\u201d which Trump said included<em> <\/em>\u201cwhat is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China\u2019s illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4652303\/john-fetterman-blasts-jd-vance-israel-iran-peace-comments\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                            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href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4651850\/thom-tillis-threaten-stall-save-america-act\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Thom Tillis threatens to stall SAVE America Act<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4652706\/trump-deep-state-china-2020-election\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4652706\">TRUMP ALLEGES \u2018DEEP STATE\u2019 SUPPRESSED CHINESE INTERFERENCE IN 2020 ELECTION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Warner, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, flagged a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/ODNI\/documents\/assessments\/ICA-declass-16MAR21.pdf\">2021 report<\/a> in which the CIA said it had \u201chigh confidence\u201d that \u201cChina did not deploy interference efforts and considered but did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US Presidential election.\u201d Although the report was finalized while Ratcliffe oversaw the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/intelligence-community\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1023\">intelligence community<\/a> as DNI, he wrote a minority opinion in which he dissented from the majority view, arguing that China sought to influence the 2020 elections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom my unique vantage point as the individual who consumes all of the U.S. government\u2019s most sensitive intelligence on the People\u2019s Republic of China, I do not believe the majority view expressed by Intelligence Community (IC) analysts fully and accurately reflects the scope of the Chinese government\u2019s efforts to influence the 2020 U.S. federal elections,\u201d Ratcliffe wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, Warner argued there is \u201cirony\u201d in the fact that Ratcliffe oversaw the intelligence community when the CIA\u2019s report on foreign threats to the 2020 elections was released and signed off on the intelligence community\u2019s assessment that no foreign actor had successfully interfered in the election, as Trump alleged Thursday night.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe irony here, and I don\u2019t mean to be disrespectful, but John Ratcliffe, [Trump\u2019s] current CIA director, was the director of national intelligence. So this conclusion, bipartisan conclusion, that most of this has been public, it was signed off by his current CIA director. So is he going to be on this hit list of victims? We\u2019ll see,\u201d Warner said on MS NOW following Trump\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> reached out to the CIA for comment on Warner\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ratcliffe posted a statement on X following Trump\u2019s speech in which he highlighted how the CIA is working to support Trump\u2019s election integrity policies, adding that he dissented from the CIA\u2019s opinion in 2021.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have long publicly highlighted China\u2019s nefarious efforts to influence the 2020 election against President Trump, as evidenced by my dissent to the flawed January 2021 Intelligence Community Assessment. The documents declassified today shed further light on China\u2019s intentions,\u201d Ratcliffe <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CIADirector\/status\/2077928802315874316?s=20\">said<\/a> in his statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sens. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jon-ossoff\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3194\">Jon Ossoff<\/a> (D-GA) and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elissa-slotkin\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11673\">Elissa Slotkin<\/a> (D-MI), two possible Democratic contenders for president in 2028, also voiced their opinions on Trump\u2019s speech in MS NOW interviews on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTonight, I heard a failed president desperately casting about for excuses to meddle in the upcoming election if he can, or to discredit the result when he loses decisively, as I expect he will,\u201d Ossoff said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ossoff said Trump was \u201cfocused on his personal grievances\u201d with this speech, \u201cas his war spirals and as prices keep climbing for families across the country.\u201d Slotkin aired her own concerns about election integrity in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11675\">2026 elections<\/a>, saying she has had conversations with Michigan officials about hypotheticals such as if Trump administration officials \u201csend in the military\u201d during ballot counting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are some really scary tabletop exercises that we\u2019re having here because the president has made clear this is not a joke to him. This is not something he just says offhandedly. He\u2019s obsessed with it, and so he\u2019s willing to really do anything to win, quote unquote, in November,\u201d Slotkin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4652721\/read-in-full-trump-address-china-2020-election\/\">READ IN FULL: TRUMP\u2019S ADDRESS TO THE NATION ON ALLEGED CHINESE INTERFERENCE IN 2020 ELECTION<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), another name floated among possible 2028 Democrats, called the speech a \u201c25th Amendment moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just watched the ramblings of a mad king and what else can I say \u2014 the only thing missing was tin foil. Donald Trump is trying to rig our elections and we have to stop him,\u201d Newsom <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/gavinnewsom\/status\/2077946984758231230?s=46\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warner questions Ratcliffe\u2019s role in Trump\u2019s election claims<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2630950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-cws878la3-1784254552713-e1784261096645.jpg?1784240246&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50489,3634,6976],"class_list":["post-2630948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-deep-state-2","tag-trump","tag-warner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-cws878la3-1784254552713-e1784261096645.jpg?1784240246&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630948"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630952,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630948\/revisions\/2630952"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}