Is President Trump’s ‘deep state’ the same as Mills’s ‘power elite’?
by third year student Gabriella Storrar-Patricio
There are similarities between the two theories. Mills wrote that the power elite refers to “those political, economic, and military circles, which as an intricate set of overlapping small but dominant groups share decisions having at least national consequences. Insofar as national events are decided, the power elite is those who decide them” (Mills 1956: 18). Whereas Trump’s “deep state” is an American political conspiracy that states that there is a clandestine network of members of the federal government (especially within the FBI and CIA), working in conjunction with high-level financial and industrial entities and leaders to exercise power alongside or within the elected United States government. In comparison, the foreign policy establishment is known to be a forever rotating circle of people, moving between think tanks, ivy league universities and government offices. It is not done in secret. This group of people all tend to be part of the same demographic, so they tend to share ideologies even while supporting different political parties.
Mill’s power elite is more than just political infrastructure; it also encapsulates the wealthy and their power over the economy. Men like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates hold so much power globally, and while they may not be direct, they have a say in many decisions made by the state. They are, in fact, also part of the shadowy relationship with the state. Instead, the country’s power rests in the hands of an organised network of nefarious, all-powerful, faceless bureaucrats opposed to the elected president.
According to Trump, this establishment that runs the United States was against his presidency and tried to undercut the people’s will by not supporting him. However, the deep state that is in place is also working alongside the Republican party. It is possible that due to Trump’s populist nature that, the establishment was working against him while he was in office. “Reports suggest that the President’s top appointees have isolated themselves from the career officials within their own buildings, perhaps for fear of leaks, perhaps as much out of fear of disagreement.” However, these bureaucrats hold some necessity; they are knowledgeable and have expertise in their chosen fields, so it is a disadvantage to leave them out of policymaking. At the same time, the deep state may sound like a bunch of bureaucrats getting together in a bunker once a week to discuss ways to take money from hard-working civilians. It is a people in highly specialised fields coming together to decide how America can improve and work better.
I think that Trump, the businessman, would also be part of Mill’s power elite since even having the opportunity to run for president and to shift from a business person to a politician shows that Trump was awarded privileges that only exist for those elite people who run the country. So while Trump may complain about the deep state elites and bureaucrats, he also gained from being a wealthy business elite with enough power to be afforded a place in the oval office.