The Deep State That Isn’t

The term ‘deep state’ was coined in the 1990s to describe a hidden element within the Turkish government that waged a dirty war against Kurdish insurgents.  In Turkey it was known as “derin devlet” which literally translates to deep state.  Ever since, stories about deep states have been floated around both here and abroad.

Former Trump advisers Steve Bannon and Roger Stone, joined by Rand Paul and Newt Gingrich among other prominent individuals, believe there is a deep state within the government that is trying to undermine the president.  Trump himself believes that he has been victimized by a deep state consisting of the CIA, the FBI, government bureaucrats and wealthy, powerful globalists (a dog whistle for Jews), all coordinated by former President Obama.

Where did they get the notion of a deep state trying to undermine President Trump?  From none other than longtime conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the voice behind Infowars.  Jones has put forth crackpot theories of the government being behind the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, the massacre of the Sandy Hook children, and the Boston Marathon bombing.  Jones has also said that LBJ was behind the JFK assassination.  And Jones was one of the leading proponents of the allegation that Obama was ineligible to be president because he was born in a foreign country.

Polls show that Jones has about half the country believing there is a deep state.  Trump has been a longtime admirer of Alex Jones.  During an appearance on Infowars, he praised Jones for having an “amazing” reputation.  And Jones has said that in a personal telephone conversation, Trump told him he was “one of the greatest influences I’ve ever seen.”

Trump has on several occasions repeated some of  Jones’ crackpot theories.  That has given the Trump-hating media more ammunition with which to attack him.

So, is here such a thing as the deep state operating within the government?  While there have been some FBI agents, CIA operatives and other bureaucrats actively working against President Trump, there is no evidence of an organized collusion between the CIA, the FBI, government bureaucrats and wealthy, powerful globalists, all coordinated by former President Obama.

Conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer said it best:

I don’t believe in the Tooth Fairy, the Knights Templar, Bilderberg, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a vast right wing conspiracy, or, for that matter, a vast left wing conspiracy. Are there in the U.S. government individual bureaucrats that are Democratic holdovers that would love nothing more than to damage Trump? Yeah, of course there are. Is there a concealed web of conspirators, malevolent permanent hidden shadow government? Rubbish. And I would add that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone without the help of Ted Cruz’s father.     

In other words, there is a deep state that isn’t.  But if you still believe in the tooth fairy, you might as well believe there is a deep state led by Barack Obama of the CIA, FBI, government bureaucrats and wealthy Jews that colluded with the Chinese to unleash coronavirus on the US in order to destroy the Trump presidency.