Good post! Hindsight being 20/20, I don't think he should have taken any existing politician. In your post, you mention "leftist/deep state"- I am starting to see that there is a "conservative (rightist)" deep state as well.
The Conservatives have a majority in both houses but refuse to do anything meaningful. I think that they are more interested in maintaining status quo and preserving their positions than they are in serving their constituents.
I wouldn't call them Conservatives although the pretend to be so. They continually vote against what conservatives want.
If they were actually conservatives things would be much easier now!
I don't have a full definition of what the Deep State is; it goes beyond the security community, and oh yes, there are plenty of Republicans that support it (RINO -Republican In Name Only, GOP Establishment); even past that the Republicans are a politcal party, not an ideological movement...corruption is endemic where there is power...