As the Trump administration pushes out controversial policy changes, thousands of declassified files concerning the 1963 assassination of former President John F. Kennedy have been released.
While historians, journalists and amateur sleuths pour over the files looking for a scrap of anything new, many have speculated that their release is a “distraction” tactic by the administration. The 2,200 files containing approximately 63,000 pages were posted by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Tuesday evening after President Donald Trump ordered their release.
“People have been waiting for decades for this,” Trump declared at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during a visit Monday. “We have a tremendous amount of paper. You've got a lot of reading. I don't believe we're going to redact anything.”
That didn’t stop the internet’s anger.
“The JFK Files are just another nothing burger—a distraction meant to divert attention from the real damage Trump and Musk are doing to this country,” political strategist Chris D. Jackson said in a post on X. “Stay focused.”
The latest Trump release comes after he promised to declassify documents related to the country’s most infamous crimes. Weeks ago, he released files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation - which were largely panned for their redactions and scant information. Now, a similar sentiment was appearing online related to the JFK files.
In 2023, the National Archives estimated that 99 percent of the government’s documents related to JFK’s assassination had been made public, leading many to question the motive and timing of the Trump release.
“DISTRACTION: Trump’s release of JFK files is likely to cover a very non productive call with Putin,” former U.S. Navy officer and Kyiv Post journalist Chuck Pfarrer said. “Despite forcing UKR into negotiations Putin’s demands remain maximalist.”
“One of the frustrating things about this whole JFK Files talk is the fact that nothing new needs to be released and the truth can already be found in what we have,” another person commented in a post on X. “And again, there is no smoking gun in there. It's another distraction and a crass and despicable one at that.”
Another wrote: “Seriously, MAGA. How many more times before you realize you’re being played? Epstein files? Nothingburger. JFK files? Mostly the same s*** Biden released.”
“Trump's JFK file release is just a rehash of Biden's 2023 drop, with minor tweaks. More hype than substance, classic distraction tactic to fool people into thinking he's delivering big. Yawn,” someone else said.
“18,000 pages of JFK files, in an unsearchable format, released on the eve of escalation in the Middle East,” another noted. “Talk about a distraction.”
Jefferson Morley, vice president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, a nonprofit that operates a database of government records on the event, contested Tuesday that only “two-thirds” of the promised documents had been made public.
The ex-Washington Post reporter added that the release also didn’t include any of the recently discovered FBI files – after the bureau said it had discovered 2,400 new records related to the assassination last month – nor any of the 500-plus Internal Revenue Service records.
“Nonetheless, this is most positive news on the declassification of JFK files since the 1990s,” he added in his statement.
Amid the release of the files, this week Trump is negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the war while fresh Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza – reportedly with the president’s blessing.
At home, meanwhile, the administration is battling federal judges after they “ignored” court orders blocking their efforts to carry out mass deportations.
