Donald Trump said on a Thursday episode of the “All-In” podcast that he believes the CIA was behind John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and later promised to declassify more information on the assassination should he return to the White House.
“RFK says the CIA killed his uncle,” podcast co-host and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis said, referencing the independent presidential candidate backing the conspiracy theory. “Do you believe that?”
“Well, this wasn't CIA that asked me, but I think CIA was probably behind it,” Trump responded.
“But they didn't — they would have preferred that I not release the rest of it,” he continued. “So, we did give quite a bit. It's gonna be done early on. A lot of people want to see that.”
The Kennedy’s assassination has long stoked conspiracy theories. However, in 1964, the Warren Commission tasked with investigating the tragedy concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination.
While in office, the former president said he would open all the remaining files related to JFK’s assassination, releasing a set of records. However, Trump changed course in 2018: He sided with the CIA, FBI, and other federal agencies, citing that the remaining files must remain classified for national security purposes. During his first term in office, President Joe Biden released a set of JFK-assassination records, equating to about 99% of documents made public.
Despite that, Trump hinted without evidence that there was more to the conspiracy:
“And whatever it may say, I won't say. I sort of have an idea, but whatever it is, it'll be very interesting for people to see. And we're gonna have to learn from it.”