THREAD: Is it a coup yet?
Today a journalist asked me, is what Trump is doing a coup? If not, how can we best describe it? What words should we use?
I continue to argue this is not a coup, but I take seriously the challenge of finding the right language to talk about what it is +
Today a journalist asked me, is what Trump is doing a coup? If not, how can we best describe it? What words should we use?
I continue to argue this is not a coup, but I take seriously the challenge of finding the right language to talk about what it is +
I'm still saying this is not a military coup, because there is no threat of force here at all. It is really important for us to point out what Trump is doing, how, & who is helping him. This isn't about force or threat, it's about sheer bluster which focuses us on his enablers.
In some countries, one could have a civilian coup or a constitutional coup where a leader illegitimately uses the law to get what he wants. But Trump literally has no stick with which to coerce others. This is clear in the tape. What he has are people who are choosing to help him
So if this is not a coup, what is it? Well, it is most likely illegal for one thing, and we could talk about the crimes being committed. It is also a betrayal of core principles & the oath of office. It is definitely an impeachable offense.
@RadioFreeTom calls what is going on "sedition" and "treason" theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
One of the many things I like about his piece is that he calls out very directly all of the other Senators, Representatives, Governors, politicians who are betraying the core principles of the Republic rather than only talking about the President.
So I think there are many things we can and should call this effort. There's one more thing I think we should do, which is to call it risible, absurd, laughable. Authoritarians are vulnerable to mockery, & this is a naked powergrab that deserves to be treated with ridicule.
We should not only reject it as a betrayal, we should laugh at it and all the people who are participating in it. There is a long history of this: bbc.com/culture/articl…
So TLDR: Not a coup, but a betrayal, power-grab, seditious and also absurd. Part of rejecting this power-grab is holding all of the opportunistic enablers to account. And ridiculing them. END
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