Story highlights
The phrase is meant to suggest there is an architecture of government that operates outside the democratic system
"Deep State" as a phrase was popularized in Turkey
President Trump’s accusation Saturday that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower was a serious allegation, and one he made without proof, but to many on the online right, it was the latest example of the Deep State.
The phrase, meant to suggest there is an architecture of government that operates outside the democratic system, has quickly entered the mainstream political lexicon. Last month following the resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, interest in the term online in the US reached its highest point, according to Google Trends. Fox News host Sean Hannity responded to a tweet last week from former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett denying the wire tap, suggesting a “Shadow Government” was made up of “Deep state swamp of Obama holdovers and DC lifers.”
But to some, “Deep State” has a far more insidious meaning than just government bureaucrats and Obama appointees still working in Washington.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan last month he disagreed with “a lot of people here in Washington and maybe some supporters of Trump who say that this is an effort by the Obama administration to undermine the Trump administration.”
“I’m worried it’s something deeper than that,” Massie said. “I’m concerned that it’s an effort on those who want a provocation with Russia or other countries to sort of push the president in the direction. So I don’t think it’s Trump vs. Obama, I think it’s really the Deep State vs. the president, the duly elected president.”