The New York Times Opinion Piece Says The Deep State Is 'Kind Of Awesome'

In a video opinion essay published by The New York Times on Tuesday, journalists Adam Westbrook and Lindsay Crouse attempted to debunk the claims about the Deep State made by 45th President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly railed against unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., and across the country that hinder elected policymakers. The duo claims that instead of condemning the expert bureaucrats, Americans should instead be thanking them for making "our lives better."

The video features interviews with three employees who work in various executive branch agencies, including NASA at the Planetary Missions Program Office, the Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Water, and the Department of Labor in the Wage and Hour Division. The three interviews show the personal side of each of these employees and go in-depth to explain how their work, which included redirecting asteroids, replacing lead pipes, and preventing child labor in slaughterhouses, impacts the public. 

The opinion piece attempts to defend the government bureaucrats who could be eliminated by Trump if he were elected in November via an executive order on Schedule F, which would allow Trump to appoint up to 50,000 political appointees rather than the 4,000 positions he filled in his first term. That plan, which would strip much of the bureaucracy of its power to hinder Trump's agenda as it did in his first term, would be pivotal in making Trump's America First policy priorities a reality. That goal has many of the left-wing journalists at The New York Times panicking as President Biden's chances of reelection look increasingly unlikely.

"As America closes in on a major election, mistrust is brewing around the mysterious government entity that's now denounced in scary-sounding terms — 'the deep state' and 'the swamp.' What do those words even mean? Who exactly do they describe?" the authors asked in the op-ed. "We went on a road trip to find out. As we met the Americans who are being dismissed as public enemies, we discovered that they are … us. They like Taylor Swift. They dance bachata. They go to bed at night watching "Star Trek" reruns. They go to work and do their jobs: saving us from Armageddon."

"Sure, our tax dollars pay them, but as you'll see in the video above, what a return on our investment we get!" The New York Times writers continue. "When we hear 'deep state,' instead of recoiling, we should rally. We should think about the workers otherwise known as our public servants, the everyday superheroes who wake up ready to dedicate their careers and their lives to serving us. These are the Americans we employ. Even though their work is often invisible, it makes our lives better."

The New York Times and other media outlets have stated for years that President Trump's claims of a 'Deep State' were unfounded and unrealistic, but with the 2024 election just months away, they have begun to change their tune. While some government bureaucrats surely do good work that benefits Americans, there are plenty who actively sabotaged the Trump administration. The only way to prevent such hindrance in the next term is to ensure that the executive branch is staffed with individuals who are willing to carry out the will of the elected president of the United States, not put his or her own priorities ahead of the officeholder.

You can view the video essay here.

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