The "deep state" is just a sinister appellation for government employees and civil servants. And when the electoral system fails democracy (as it did in 2000 and most assuredly has done in 2016), resulting in the ascension to power of a mindless oligarch and a gaggle of his manipulative minions, it's important for these people to risk their livelihoods and stand up for what's right. The "vendetta" against Trump isn't based on revenge, it is based on the fact that he is personally loathesome, professionally dishonest, and his policies destructive to wide swaths of Americans at home and American interests abroad.