I thought the "deep state" was only conjured when a Republican is President and they need a boogeyman to explain their failures. Wouldn't scary libruls in the government right now just be... the state?

No, the political division we see today is because the christofacists have realized they lost their shitty "culture war" and are hellbent on destroying democracy and hurting the people they hate. Don't blame the victims. That bullshit is fucking obnoxious. Just hold hands with the people who want to strip away your rights and human dignity and everything will be great!