1. One of the minor revolutions of the era is that the New York Times is now talking about the Deep State without quotes, as if it were a real thing. 
2. Pace the NY Times, I've come to think the phrase Deep State is best avoided because of its conspiratorial overtones & suggestions of authoritarian regimes like Turkey & Egypt. What we're really talking about this the administrative state.
3. The administrative state is basically the vast network of professionals who serve no matter who is president. The rule of law often binds White House officials of whatever political views to follow norms set by the administrative state.
4. All presidents clash with the administrative state (which has a status quo bias): Nixon had to an end run around national security establishment to negotiate with China, Obama the same with Iran. But Trump's clashes have gone deeper.
5. The thing with Trump is that he's a narcissist who has only ever run a family business (one that often skirted the law). So by temperament & experience, he's not used to obeying norms. The administrative state is all about rules and norms.
6. A worrying undercurrent of the Trump era -- one which the next president will have to confront -- is that in response to Trump's lawlessness the administrative state has developed the habit of disobeying the president: not just slow-walking but ignoring his orders.
7. Trump is bad but we'll need to have a reckoning with how the insubordination of the administrative (rather than, as constitution requires, congressional checks) became main way to contain him. That's a problem. More thoughts here: thenation.com/article/trump-…
