After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed in September, Donald Trump vowed retribution against groups that he said have done “tremendous damage to our country.” The president directed his administration to prosecute anyone engaged in political violence and called antifa—a decentralized, far-left movement—a “domestic terrorist” group. Vice President J.D. Vance and Stephen Miller, a White House deputy chief of staff, threatened to go after the tax status of major liberal philanthropic foundations.
Four months later, these pronouncements have clashed with reality. No widespread crackdown has arrived, and some outside allies of the White House have been left disappointed. “We’re not seeing the full force of government deployed at dismantling left-wing extremist networks and their funders, including antifa,” said Mike Howell, the president of the Oversight Project, a conservative nonprofit in Washington. Howell added that it seems like officials “are just playing whack-a-mole” without real results.
“With limited exceptions, it’s been slow and lackadaisical,” said another conservative activist about the push for investigations. The activist has briefed federal officials on liberal groups, including the philanthropy of George Soros, a Democratic megadonor and longtime foe of the right.
