Donald Trump’s war on the deep state, his connection to Biden and his impact on the 2024 US elections | Explained

Donald Trump, who launched his third presidential campaign in March last year, called the campaign to oust US President Joe Biden in 2024 “the final battle”. At a rally in Waco, Texas, he claimed that in this race “either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state”.

Foreign policy experts and political scientists use the term “deep state” to describe people and organizations that wield power in civil society and over political leaders. They apply it primarily to developing countries such as Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, where generals and spies make all the major decisions and replace elected officials when they see fit.

The Deep State and its origins

According to an American political conspiracy theory, the Deep State is a secret network of federal officials – particularly FBI and CIA employees – who work with prominent figures in the financial and business sectors to exercise power alongside or within the democratically elected U.S. government.

The term “deep state” was first used in the 1990s to refer to an alleged long-standing “deep state” in Turkey. However, the phrase was later used to describe the U.S. government, particularly under the Obama administration. However, under Trump’s presidency, the thesis gained widespread acceptance as he claimed that the alleged “deep state” was working against him and his administration’s policies.

During Obama’s presidency, the focus was on the disturbing accuracy of “targeted killings” by drones, followed by the controversy surrounding Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose revelations in 2013 revealed the horrifying extent of government eavesdropping. “There is definitely a deep state. Trust me, I’ve been there,” he told the nation in 2014.

According to opinion polls from 2017 and 2018, about half of Americans believe there is a “deep state” in the United States.

Trump promises to destroy the “deep state”

Trump’s obsession with the “deep state” is nothing new. He has been promoting this theory since special counsel Robert Mueller launched the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Trump used the term to criticize whistleblowers and U.S. intelligence informants during his tenure as president. Many of the January 6 Capitol rioters were inspired by conspiracy theories spread by QAnon, which claimed that a “deep state” was conspiring to destabilize Trump and deceive the electorate. In addition, Trump has promised to “crush” the “deep state” if elected in November by repealing civil service protections that protect thousands of government employees.

Following the recent assassination attempt on Trump, social media was flooded with numerous conspiracy theories. Only a few described the attack as “staged.”

Meanwhile, one of the allegedly US-based accounts that has spread misinformation in the past wrote: “This is the price you pay for taking down the elite satanic pedophiles,” referring to the QAnon movement’s conspiracy theory that Trump is waging a secret war against the “deep state.”

Without providing any evidence to support this claim, they stated that the “order” for the assassination “probably came from the CIA” and accused Mike Pence, Hillary Clinton and Obama of complicity. The viral post has been viewed over 6.9 million times.

“This is either one of the worst Secret Service mistakes in history or a Deep State conspiracy. This should never have happened,” tweeted Brad Parscale, Trump’s 2020 campaign manager.

Biden and the Deep State

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently claimed that the US media and “deep state” had long kept Biden’s true mental state secret from the public.

Zakharova said those who tried to portray Biden as capable had only made things worse, responding to Biden’s reference to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”

Russian state media commentators, who had warned that Democrats would kill Trump, suggested that Russia’s domestic intelligence service should start “protecting our Donald.”

Russian propagandists are now accusing both Democrats and Ukrainians of trying to kill Trump. “The Democratic Party is behind this assassination attempt,” former New York Times correspondent John Varoli claimed on Sunday on Solovyov Live’s “At Dawn.”

The host also aired a clip from Saturday Night Live in which Jim Carrey mocks Biden’s gun-wielding, while Ponomar suggests that the president would rather “shoot his opponents.” According to Ponomar, Biden and the “deep state” are ready to drown the United States and the rest of the world in blood. Varoli agreed with this claim, claiming, “Joe Biden is a terrorist.”

He went on to say that the government controls the Secret Service and other US intelligence agencies, absurdly suggesting that they are “full of liberals” and could have been involved in an assassination attempt on Trump.

With Biden’s ability to serve another term in office in question, especially after the presidential debate against Trump, Republicans and some Democrats urged him to withdraw from the race.

also read: Donald Trump’s decision to select JD Vance was influenced by three key figures and an assassination warning: report

Does the Deep State control the USA?

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama highlighted Biden’s competence on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures” and claimed that Democratic politicians and the “deep state” controlled the incumbent president.

He claimed that Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi and Obama, along with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ran the country. “You can tell by Schumer and Pelosi’s actions that they were in charge for the first two years.”

He hopes Americans will understand that control lies with Schumer and Pelosi and the entire deep state, not Biden. “The deep state has total control of this and hopefully we can get control of it and get the Democrats out of power and put Trump and all the Republicans in charge of this country.”

What experts say about the Deep State

Experts largely ignored the deep state claims. According to Megan Squire, deputy director of data analysis at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, “incidents of political violence give rise to conspiracy theories and false narratives as people try to manipulate events to suit their particular agendas,” the Washington Post reported.

David Rohde, author of In Deep: The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth About America’s Deep State, said Trump and his allies have used the term “deep state” to avoid criticism. He believes the “deep state” is both a real phenomenon and a toxic distraction, according to Vox.