David Rothkopf is a left of center podcaster, writer, and consultant whose firm, The Rothkopf Group, conducts work on behalf of the embassy of the government of the United Arab Emirates, among other clients. He has a history of making inflammatory statements about former president Donald Trump and Republicans in general. ^{1 2 3}

In the Clinton administration, he held a political-appointee position in the Commerce Department. ⁴

Career

Media Work

David Rothkopf is the founder and CEO of International Media Partners, editor and publisher of CEO magazine and Emerging Markets newspaper, and was the chairman of the CEO Institute. ⁵

Rothkopf’s writing has been published in a variety of outlets, including the Daily Beast, USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He has authored numerous books on a variety of subjects covering both domestic and international politics. His wrote a book entitled Traitor: A History of Betraying America from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump, in which he argued that former President Donald Trump colluded with the Russian government. The book received glowing reviews from left-of-center and anti-Trump writers such as Max Boot, David Frum, and the Guardian newspaper. ^{6 7}

Government and Consulting

Rothkopf worked as the deputy undersecretary for internal trade policy in the Commerce Department during the Clinton administration. ⁸

After leaving the Clinton administration, Rothkopf joined Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm started by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, as the managing director. He later worked as CEO of the consulting firm Garten Rothkopf and was the CEO and founder of the open source intelligence firm Intellibridge Corporation. Rothkopf was also the CEO and editor of the FP Group, the firm that publishes the magazine Foreign Policy. ⁹

The Rothkopf Group

Rothkopf formed his own political consulting and media firm, The Rothkopf Group, in 2017. ¹⁰

TRG Media

The media arm of The Rothkopf Group is centered on podcasts and exclusive in-person events that connect the reportedly high-level audiences to subject matter experts. ¹¹ TRG Media’s flagship podcast is Deep State Radio, which Rothkopf hosts. ¹²

David Rothkopf is the founder and host of Deep State Radio, a left-of-center podcast that was launched in 2017 in the wake of Donald Trump’s electoral victory and ascension to the presidency. The podcast’s website openly states that it was started to counter “conspiracy theorists” and people “who had suffered significant head trauma” who dared to criticize intelligence and national security agencies. Such people are also characterized as “nutjobs.” ¹³

TRG Media offerings have expanded over time into a suite of programming, with additional podcasts, blogs, and live events that emphasize interviews and access to supposed “Deep State insiders” and experts. ¹⁴

Work for United Arab Emirates

Since 2018 David Rothkopf has done work for the embassy of the United Arab Emirates and has registered his consulting firm, The Rothkopf Group, with the State Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The firm is paid to assist the embassy with the messaging on any possible subjects. Rothkopf has stated that his firm does not lobby on behalf of the government of the United Arab Emirates. ^{15 16}

Rothkopf and news outlets where he has appeared, such as MSNBC and The Daily Beast were criticized by reporter and critic of U.S. Middle East policy Glenn Greenwald for failing to properly disclose to readers and viewers that Rothkopf was paid by the United Arab Emirates, which Greenwald called a “despotic regime.” ¹⁷ In its 2021 world report, Human Rights Watch states that the United Arab Emirates has been involved in numerous human rights abuses, including the jailing of political dissenters, labor abuses, and abuses in Libya and Yemen. ¹⁸

In response to Greenwald’s criticisms, Rothkopf stated on Twitter that he has maintained his independence and that his firm does not engage in lobbying. ¹⁹

In the fall of 2021, it was revealed that senior United Arab Emirates officials, including the ambassador to the United States for whose office Rothkopf was registered to work, were involved in influence operations in the United States that included funneling allegedly illegal campaign contributions to both the Clinton and Trump campaigns in 2016. ²⁰

Political Views

David Rothkopf has been very vocal about his support of Democrats and left-of-center positions. During the Trump administration, Rothkopf vocally defended members of intelligence agencies that were being accused of illegally undermining the president and launched a podcast to do so. ²¹ Rothkopf has stated that Trump supporters are a bigger threat to America than the Taliban, that Donald Trump may be the worst traitor in American history, and that the United States was verging on becoming a failed state while Trump was president. ^{22 23 24}

In an interview in Salon, the interviewer, Chauncey DeVega, suggested that there should be truth and reconciliation committees in the aftermath of the Trump presidency, and that President Trump and members of his administration should be tried for their response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Rothkopf does not push back on such suggestions and also states that the Republican Party desires to “gut” democracy and is afraid of it. He also stated that he considers himself to be an Elizabeth Warren Democrat. ²⁵

As of April 2021, Rothkopf still maintained that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government and stated that he believed this would be proven and within 10 years accepted as common knowledge. ²⁶

1. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/.
2. “Rothkopf Group FARA Registration.” State Department, September 9, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6596-Exhibit-AB-20210909-2.pdf.
3. DeVega, Chauncey. “Democratic Insider David Rothkopf on Biden’s Historic First 100 Days — and the Danger Ahead.” Salon, April 29, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.salon.com/2021/04/29/democratic-insider-david-rothkopf-on-bidens-historic-first-100-days–and-the-danger-ahead/.
4. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/.
5. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/.
6. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/.
7. Rothkopf, David. “Traitor: A History of American Betrayal from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump.” Amazon.com, October 27, 2020. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Traitor-Case-Against-Donald-Trump/dp/1250228832
8. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/.
9. The Rothkopf Group. “David Rothkopf.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/david-rothkopf/
10. The Rothkopf Group. “About TRG.” Accessed October 4, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/about-trg/.
11. The Rothkopf Group. “About TRG.” Accessed October 4, 2021. https://trgmedia.com/about-trg/.
12. Deep State Radio Network. “About Us.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://thedsrnetwork.com/about/.
13. Deep State Radio Network. “About Us.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://thedsrnetwork.com/about/.
14. Deep State Radio Network. “About Us.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://thedsrnetwork.com/about/.
15. “Rothkopf Group FARA Registration.” State Department, September 9, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://efile.fara.gov/docs/6596-Exhibit-AB-20210909-2.pdf.
16. McFall, Caitlin. “Biden Ally Signs $1.6 Million Contract with UAE.” MSN, September 15, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-ally-signs-2416-million-contract-with-uae/ar-AAOtKCq.
17. Greenwald, Glenn. “MSNBC and Daily Beast Feature UAE Lobbyist David Rothkopf With No Disclosure: A Scandalous Media-Wide Practice.” The Intercept, October 22, 2018. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://theintercept.com/2018/10/22/msnbc-and-daily-beast-feature-uae-lobbyist-david-rothkopf-with-no-disclosure-a-scandalous-media-wide-practice/.
18.  Human Rights Watch. “UAE: Reality of Abuses Contradicts Tolerance Rhetoric,” January 13, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/13/uae-reality-abuses-contradicts-tolerance-rhetoric.
19. Twitter. “David Rothkopf on Twitter,” October 22, 2018. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1054477705436151809.
20. Freeman, Ben. “Top UAE Officials Named in Illegal US Influence Operation.” Responsible Statecraft, September 30, 2021. https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/09/30/top-uae-officials-named-in-illegal-us-influence-operation/.
21. Deep State Radio Network. “About Us.” Accessed September 29, 2021. https://thedsrnetwork.com/about/.
22. Rothkopf, David. “The MAGA Movement’s a Bigger Threat to America Than the Taliban.” The Daily Beast, August 26, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-maga-movements-a-bigger-threat-to-america-than-the-taliban.
23. Rothkopf, David. “How Do Trump’s Extraordinary Betrayals Stand up against History? He Could Be the Worst.” USA TODAY, October 27, 2020. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/10/27/trump-betrayals-stand-out-even-next-to-benedict-arnold-column/6040603002/.
24. Rothkopf, David. “Is America a Failing State?” Foreign Policy, May 10, 2017. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/10/is-america-a-failing-state-trump-fires-comey-fbi/.
25. DeVega, Chauncey. “Democratic Insider David Rothkopf on Biden’s Historic First 100 Days — and the Danger Ahead.” Salon, April 29, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.salon.com/2021/04/29/democratic-insider-david-rothkopf-on-bidens-historic-first-100-days–and-the-danger-ahead/.
26. DeVega, Chauncey. “Democratic Insider David Rothkopf on Biden’s Historic First 100 Days — and the Danger Ahead.” Salon, April 29, 2021. Accessed October 4, 2021. https://www.salon.com/2021/04/29/democratic-insider-david-rothkopf-on-bidens-historic-first-100-days–and-the-danger-ahead/.