Trump's pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has vowed to "come after" the media. But he also later emphasized to NBC News that his comments only apply if people "broke the law."

Powerful MAGA voices are hailing him as their No. 1 avenger to hunt down and decapitate the modern-day Hydra known as the “deep state,” a central villain of the conspiracy theory that gained momentum during Trump’s first term in office.