• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Trump's Coup d'état.

Status
Not open for further replies.
I think ww are into Disaster Porn here.

Dude you've been all over the threads creaming yourself over a Civil War happening any day now for the last four years.

If this is Disaster Porn you've been deep into Disaster Snuff.



As to the question in the OP my answer is the same it pretty much always has been.

No I don't think he can succeed, but I'm not particularly enjoying watching him see how close he can get.

And the closer he gets the more damage to the reputation of the United States as a Democracy he does.

And I have no intention of watching Trump see how far he can go in the hope that we'll recognize it going to far before the point of no return if we're wrong.
 
Last edited:
I'm greatly relieved! Thank dog that Trump has never talked about prosecuting his political rivals and that we don't have anyone in his cabinet who has talked about executing Trump's enemies for treason!

Obviously Russia 1917 was largely a feudal monarchy. However, if you want to study how coups take place then there will be common themes. A large theme being cheating and not following the rules.

Now that there will be a manual recount in Georgia, who's to say a bundle of 20,000 ballot papers doesn't suddenly finds its way into the count, in Trump's favour? Biden and co arrested and charged with fraud, National Guard in place in every metropolis to quell any rioting and looting...do you think Trump would draw the line at cheating...? Or making false arrests...?
 
Trump is installing loyalists in top positions of the military and Pentagon.

Ah but you see, the excuse goes, he's not in his heart of heart really meaning to launch a coup, he's just doing exactly someone who wanted to plan a coup would be doing.

Or he's just pretending to plan a coup to tweak the libs.

Or he's planning a coup but the Dems would do the same thing in his position so that makes it okay.

Or he's planning a coup but we're being dramatic about it.
 
That is slightly more plausible then the scenario that The Atheist put out...
But wait, there's more.

If Trump cannot prevail in lawsuits in PA and other swing states, he can perhaps convince GOP-majority state legislatures to appoint slates of electors in lieu of the ones chosen by voters.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
The key question is just how far he will push it. As it is, even if he ultimately fails, he has already convinced a significant number of people that Biden stole the election and this will undermine his legitimacy and ability to govern. I find the scenarios of an actual miltary coup less likely to succeed, and I also think that he may not try because he is fundamentally a coward, and even in his deranged mind has to realize that failing at a military coup will end with him ether dead or in a prison cell, likely for the rest of his life. OTOH, I can't completely discount the idea that he really is crazy enough to go that far. His firings of the Defense Department officials certainly suggests that he's planning a coup, or planning on deploying the military against protesters.

The way I think that this will play out is that he will push the lawsuits, and possibly efforts to hijack electors through Republican legislators as far as possible. There is also the possibility of preventing electors from being seated and throwing the election into the House of Representatives, which, because they will vote by state delegation would likely put Trump in.

What I think will happen is that he will try all of the quasi-legal avenues, refuse to cooperate in the transition, and leave the White House on Jan. 20, still claiming the election was stolen from him, and starting his run for 2024.

Long term, what scares me even more than a Trump run in 2024 is that the Republicans will try again, with a more competent authoritarian. They have proven that they will support an authoritarian, and I think what has (probably) saved us this time is the overall incompetence of Trump.

Frankly, if Trump does manage to pull this off, I may be among the mob setting fires and breaking windows.
 
<snip>

Long term, what scares me even more than a Trump run in 2024 is that the Republicans will try again, with a more competent authoritarian. They have proven that they will support an authoritarian, and I think what has (probably) saved us this time is the overall incompetence of Trump.

Frankly, if Trump does manage to pull this off, I may be among the mob setting fires and breaking windows.

Look up Section §2383 of the US constitution.
 
"Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."

Nice. How great would it be if Biden's AG were to gather enough evidence to make something like that stick? Americans would never have to contend with Trump in office ever again.
 
Some may enjoy listening to the Radio lab episode called "What If?"
There’s plenty of speculation about what Donald Trump might do in the wake of the election. Would he dispute the results if he loses? Would he simply refuse to leave office, or even try to use the military to maintain control? Last summer, Rosa Brooks got together a team of experts and political operatives from both sides of the aisle to ask a slightly different question. Rather than arguing about whether he’d do those things, they dug into what exactly would happen if he did. Part war game part choose your own adventure, Rosa’s Transition Integrity Project doesn’t give us any predictions, and it isn’t a referendum on Trump. Instead, it’s a deeply illuminating stress test on our laws, our institutions, and on the commitment to democracy written into the constitution.
Some of these scenarios are already in play. One scenario is faithless electors. it is an interesting thought experiment.
 
But wait, there's more.

If Trump cannot prevail in lawsuits in PA and other swing states, he can perhaps convince GOP-majority state legislatures to appoint slates of electors in lieu of the ones chosen by voters.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
Been discussed. Name a state and let's look closer. PA legislators have already said, no they would not.
 
As I said in another thread, an attempted coup might be one of the best things that could happen in the long-term because it would discredit Trump as a mainstream political force. Also, four years ago, I was promised outright fascism. A coup is extremely unlikely, but 1% threats need to be taken seriously if they're sufficiently, well, disastrous.

Didn't seem to phase Hitler.

Trump doesn't drink beer.
 
I sleep well at night knowing nothing will happen except some comical posturing. DC is full of politicians and Intelligence communities that would not let the crazy off the leash under any circumstances. Secret Service, military, et al would not allow a coup or anything to go down before the legal means of removing a loon were executed.

In reality, President Trump's staff in the West Wing will convince him he can't win this particular battle and to go away and cry elsewhere.
 
Not sure why these things keep getting brought up. SCOTUS already ruled, faithless electors are not legal.
Not quite what SCOTUS ruled. What they said was that individual states can make them illegal if they so choose.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2020/07/opinion-analysis-court-upholds-faithless-elector-laws/

It is of some relevance here that neither GA nor PA have laws which would punish or replace a faithless electorWP.

PA legislators have already said, no they would not.
Happy to assume the Democratic state legislators actually meant what they said, but those who follow Trump's banner can reasonably be expected to emulate him. It makes rather little sense to take them at their word.
 
Last edited:
Not sure why these things keep getting brought up. SCOTUS already ruled, faithless electors are not legal.

Oh my God not again. How many times are you going to repeat this lie?

SCOTUS said nothing of the sort. Faithless Electors are not legal if the state they are in says so and almost none of the states are saying so. The SCOTUS ruling only said "States have the right to punish faithless electors if they want."

You're expecting this fantasy SCOTUS ruling that happened only in your head to save us and it's not the first time.

STOP SAYING THAT SCOTUS HAS RULED AGAINST FAITHLESS ELECTORS. It's highly dangerous misinformation right about now.
 
Last edited:
The key question is just how far he will push it.

That's not a key question at all because we already know the answer. The answer is as far as he can.

The key question is how far can he push it?

The answer to that question does not depend on him alone because he can't push for much of anything by himself. Disturbingly, he's not alone. How far are his collaborators willing to go?

As it is, even if he ultimately fails, he has already convinced a significant number of people that Biden stole the election and this will undermine his legitimacy and ability to govern. I find the scenarios of an actual miltary coup less likely to succeed, and I also think that he may not try because he is fundamentally a coward, and even in his deranged mind has to realize that failing at a military coup will end with him ether dead or in a prison cell, likely for the rest of his life. OTOH, I can't completely discount the idea that he really is crazy enough to go that far. His firings of the Defense Department officials certainly suggests that he's planning a coup, or planning on deploying the military against protesters.

The way I think that this will play out is that he will push the lawsuits, and possibly efforts to hijack electors through Republican legislators as far as possible. There is also the possibility of preventing electors from being seated and throwing the election into the House of Representatives, which, because they will vote by state delegation would likely put Trump in.

What I think will happen is that he will try all of the quasi-legal avenues, refuse to cooperate in the transition, and leave the White House on Jan. 20, still claiming the election was stolen from him, and starting his run for 2024.

So many things are plausible. No one knows where we are going. We have a shameful spectacle that will probably end up with Biden swearing in at the appointed time but there's no guarantee. Even then, much damage is being and will be done.

Long term, what scares me even more than a Trump run in 2024 is that the Republicans will try again, with a more competent authoritarian. They have proven that they will support an authoritarian, and I think what has (probably) saved us this time is the overall incompetence of Trump.

The "long term" could be as soon as 2024.

Frankly, if Trump does manage to pull this off, I may be among the mob setting fires and breaking windows.

It would be sad if the Four Seasons Total Landscaping gang managed to pull this off. It's sad that it is even a question.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top Bottom