Why conservatives love to blame the 'deep state' for everything [View all]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared on Fox News on Tuesday to discuss the true culprit behind his rocky nomination and scandal-plagued tenure as America’s Pentagon chief.
The problem isn’t his own personal conduct, including an allegation of assault, nor is it his embrace of bigoted policies. The problem is not even his sloppy disclosure of war plans to people outside the military command structure. No, Hegseth knew the culprit: “the deep state.”
The former Fox News host’s invocation of the “deep state” is familiar territory for conservatives over the past few years. President Donald Trump loves talking about the so-called “deep state.” According to the Trump Twitter archive, Trump referenced the “deep state” at least 95 times in social media posts made between November 2017 and October 2024.
Trump told millions that the “deep state” had performed a “coup” against him in stealing the 2020 election, which he lost (fair and square) to Joe Biden. He has also claimed that the “deep state” was behind the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, and that the “deep state” was behind delays at the Food and Drug Administration responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/4/26/2318553/-Why-conservatives-love-to-blame-the-deep-state-for-everything
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