Of those polled, 27 percent says the unelected group — known as the deep state — definitely exists and another 47 percent probably exists. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images Poll: Majority believe 'deep state' manipulates U.S. policies

The majority of the country believes a group of unelected government and military officials secretly manipulate national policy, according to a Monmouth Poll released Monday.

Of the 803 adults polled, 27 percent said they believe the unelected group known as the deep state definitely exists. An additional 47 percent said it probably exists. Sixteen percent said it probably does not exist and 5 percent said they believe it definitely does not exist.


In the past, President Donald Trump has railed against the deep state. Earlier this year, he tweeted that the Justice Department is part of it, posting: "Crooked Hillary Clinton’s top aid, [sic] Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others."

Republicans and independents were more likely to respond that they believe in the existence of the deep state, with 31 percent and 33 percent respectively. Only 19 percent of Democrats said the deep state definitely exists.

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Approximately 80 percent of those polled also indicated they believe the U.S. government is monitoring or spying on the actives of American citizens. Fifty-three percent said they believe the activity is widespread, and 29 percent said the monitoring is happening, but is not widespread. Only 14 percent said they believe there is no monitoring happening at all.

Few respondents, or 18 percent, said they believe government monitoring is usually justified. Fifty-three percent, however, said that government monitoring is only sometimes justified and an additional 28 percent said it is rarely or never justified.

The poll has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points and included a random sample of 803 adults. The survey was conducted in English via landline telephones and cellphones.