On December 16, 2016, an anonymous author, writing under the pseudonym “Virgil,” published a 4,000-word article in Breitbart News, then under the leadership of Steve Bannon. Entitled “The Deep State vs. Donald Trump,” the piece introduced the term “deep state” to a broader conservative audience. The author defined the “Deep State” as all federal employees as well as their political supporters, the policy elite (the “chattering class”), and the mainstream media (“MSM”).
