It develops the swamp President Donald Trump pledged to drain is quite deep, not to mention full of denizens unwilling to go without a fight.

Even before he started talking about draining the swamp during last year’s election campaign, the establishment — a synonym for “swamp” — worked hard to defeat him. Both Republican and Democrat leaders first underestimated Trump, then grew desperate to stop him.

Now they have shifted to harassment in an attempt to intimidate him, with talk of trying to impeach him.

Why? The establishment has ruled our nation for more than a century. It has slapped down more than a few reform-minded presidents and members of Congress.

When you’re the elephant in the room, why worry about a pesky critic you can step on just as you dealt with other threats?

But that’s just it: Trump isn’t like any threat the swamp has faced. He won’t play by the rules. He’s got a power base.

It has not escaped the notice of those in the swamp that in poll after poll, Trump’s support never seems to drop below 30-36 percent. That scares the elephant, because no matter how loudly he trumpets warnings about how dangerous Trump allegedly is, the president’s core supporters remain unmoved.

One misconception about the swamp is that its boundaries conform to those of the District of Columbia. In reality, the swamp includes entrenched Republican and Democrat politicians at all levels, federal and state bureaucrats, big financial institutions, big health care, the entertainment industry, defense contractors, the self-proclaimed intelligentsia who control higher education and yes, some in the news media.

I suspect many of Trump’s supporters grit their teeth occasionally at what he says. But just when there is a possibility of chipping away at Trump’s core, the swamp spews forth another attack on him — and his supporters remember why they may not like him particularly, but dislike the establishment even more.

It is no exaggeration to say that denizens of the swamp have been vicious in their attacks on Trump. Expect them to get worse, simply because the president and those behind him aren’t planning merely to change a policy here or a law there.

They’re talking about erasing a way of life for the establishment. Within the swamp, the fear is very real.

Myer can be reached at: mmyer@theintelligencer.net.