President Donald Trump has opened up about who he thinks was behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to prioritize transparency by declassifying files tied to the Kennedy assassination.
"As the first step toward restoring transparency and accountability to government, we will also reverse the over-classification of government documents," he said at a massive 'Make America Great Again' rally at Washington, DC’s Capital One Arena.
He followed through with the promise in the very first week of his presidency, signing an executive order that triggered the release of 80,000 long-withheld documents.
The files - kept secret for decades due to their sensitive nature - were finally made public last week under the 78-year-old's direction.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, while riding through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. He was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald from a nearby building.
The shock of Kennedy’s death led to the formation of the Warren Commission, which ultimately concluded that Oswald acted alone. Still, public suspicion has lingered for decades.
The newly released files didn’t break any ground on that front. While the documents failed to reveal major new insights into the assassination itself, they did expose personal information, including the Social Security numbers of several individuals.
“I think the papers have turned out to be somewhat unspectacular and maybe that’s a good thing,” he said during an interview with Clay Travis from the conservative outlet OutKick over the weekend.
During the interview, the President was asked whether he believed Oswald was responsible for Kennedy’s assassination, and said: “I do."
Trump continued: "I do and I’ve always felt that."
But, he also questioned the lingering suspicions around one of the most controversial chapters in American history by saying: “Of course, was he helped?”
Over the years, many have speculated that Oswald may have been aided by the Mafia, the CIA, the Cuban government, the KGB, or even elements within the U.S. government but official findings dispute those claims.
Trump’s push for transparency didn’t stop with the JFK files. He also signed an executive order instructing his administration to declassify documents tied to several major cases and historical events, including the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and the September 11 attacks.