We warned in March 2019 of a coup attempt if Trump lost the 2020 election. We were right.

[aubiefifty 18,231]

We warned in March 2019 of a coup attempt if Trump lost the 2020 election. We were right.

 

Jerry H. Goldfeder and Lincoln Mitchell

Mon, August 2, 2021, 7:13 AM

 

 

 

Trump supporters climb the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“Just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen."

That's what President Donald Trump told Justice Department officials as part of his insistent pressure campaign to declare the 2020 election “corrupt” so he and his Republican cronies in Congress could overturn the results and keep him in office, according to notes of a conversation released Friday by a House committee. We may be used to this happening in other countries, yet many Americans believe it could never happen here. It’s shocking – but, unfortunately, not surprising, at least to us.

In March of 2019 we wrote a column for USA TODAY entitled, “A Donald Trump coup if he loses in 2020? With all the norms he’s busted, don’t rule it out.” We hate to say “we told you so,” but we did – at a time when most people dismissed the idea as too far-fetched to consider. It’s not that we are so prescient. It’s just that we understood Trump’s authoritarian nature and the weaknesses in our electoral system.

Our election system is vulnerable

 

After last November, Trump’s coup attempt took many forms: He summoned election officials from Michigan and Pennsylvania to the White House to bully them into changing the results in their states; he pleaded with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory there; and he demanded that Vice President Mike Pence block the final step in the election – the ceremonial congressional count of Electoral College votes.

He also incited insurrectionists to storm the U.S. Capitol to physically prevent that final step on Jan. 6. One could watch videos taken on that day over and over and still gasp in horror. And while all of this was going on, Trump was badgering Justice Department officials to belly up to his “Big Lie” that the election was stolen from him.

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The man who knew Trump best, his onetime lawyer Michael Cohen, tried to warn us. He testified in Congress more than a year and a half before the election: If Trump loses, “there will never be a peaceful transition of power.” Only a handful of us took this seriously. After all, there had been 10 incumbent presidents before Trump who had lost reelection and simply turned over the keys to the Oval Office.

 

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

But Trump obviously doesn’t respect constitutional norms. That is why we tried to sound the alarm. Those who scoffed at the prospect of Trump’s refusal to accept defeat apparently allowed themselves to be lulled by patriotic notions of American democratic traditions.

Let’s be clear: The problem is not just Trump anymore. Even after the invasion of the Capitol, when their very lives were threatened, eight Republican senators and 139 Republican House members voted against confirming unambiguous Electoral College vote totals in one or more states. And despite what the entire world saw and heard, Republican leaders are now promoting an incredibly distorted picture of what actually occurred on Jan. 6.

Goldfeder and Mitchell: A Donald Trump coup if he loses in 2020? With all the norms he's busted, don't rule it out

The cumulative result of Trump’s incessant lying about the election and the GOP’s distortion of the insurrection is the absurd belief among many of Trump’s supporters that he really won – which leads us to our current concerns. As we think about upcoming elections, we are worried about the movement in several states to strip election administration from experienced and honest officials, and put the final word in the hands of partisan legislators.

We can't rely on apple-pie idealism

Take Georgia, as just one example. An “investigation” of Fulton County election administrators is under way by Republican state legislators. Fulton, home to Atlanta, has a huge Democratic electorate. Is it possible that in the next presidential or gubernatorial election, the state election board, whose members are now appointed by the Republican legislature, will simply cry fraud and overturn the totals in that county? Post-2020 legislation appears to give them the authority to do so.

We’re also nervous that Jan. 6 was but a prelude to 2024. There is no reason to think domestic terrorists will not attempt to steal the next election by, for example, attacking various state capitols as Electoral College votes are being counted. Remember that the Capitol assault was presaged by armed action in the halls of the Michigan Legislature by very similar mobs several months earlier. As difficult as Jan. 6 was, multiple insurrections in various states could upend the next presidential election.

Connie Schultz: On Jan. 6, I feared for my country, my colleagues, my husband. I had no idea how bad it really was.

Under the circumstances, the prospect of future free, fair and democratic elections in the United States is not assured. Although we are not by nature alarmists, the seriousness of this ongoing threat to the republic must be acknowledged. Of course, we hope we are wrong, just as we had hoped we were in our original article two years ago. But let’s not rely on apple-pie idealism. Rigorous political analysis and legal guardrails, as well as an alert citizenry, are essential if we are to preserve our democracy.

Jerry H. Goldfeder (@jerrygoldfeder), a nationally recognized election attorney who teaches Election Law at Fordham Law School, was chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on the 2020 Election and consultant to CNN’s 2016 miniseries "Race for the White House." Lincoln Mitchell (@LincolnMitchell) teaches in the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and is the author of several books, including "The Democracy Promotion Paradox."

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump coup attempt: We warned about the former president in 2019

[aubiefifty 18,231]

this is what the republican party has turned into. lies are the new truth. claiming the election was stolen and then changing facts to fit a narrative that just is not true. trying to sway the justice department to help steal the election from the folks that won it lawfully. all the gas lighting and stirring up hate and encouraging people to punch em in the face. punch em again. words matter. people say i hate trump but i have never encouraged violence against anyone. lets remember that mob wanted to hang pence and pelosi and others as enemies of this great country. you folks on the right encouraged this by denying the harm trump was doing with his bull crap. this was pointed out long before he was elected. and some of you were furious with those sounding the alarm. and of course some still think trump is squeaky clean and they will prove it responding to the article. and the big excuse was everyone said coen was a liar and nothing he said was true. how is that working out for you? you can be in denial all you want and you would be considered a fool by many. go ahead and wear that hat! you guys earned it!

[AUFAN78 4,156]

Not so fast my little friend. It appears the left wing liars (media) are at it again. And btw, sucked you right in. 

The narrative has been set, however, and now a large chunk of the country will wrongly believe that, after losing the election, Trump insisted the Department of Justice lie to the American public that the election was corrupt so he and Republican allies could steal the election.

Yet an equally large contingency will know the reality of the conversation—and where the real corruptness lies: leftist corporate media.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/02/nyt-lies-about-trump-again-with-claim-he-pushed-doj-to-declare-election-corrupt/

[homersapien 12,230]

2 hours ago, AUFAN78 said:

Not so fast my little friend. It appears the left wing liars (media) are at it again. And btw, sucked you right in. 

The narrative has been set, however, and now a large chunk of the country will wrongly believe that, after losing the election, Trump insisted the Department of Justice lie to the American public that the election was corrupt so he and Republican allies could steal the election.

Yet an equally large contingency will know the reality of the conversation—and where the real corruptness lies: leftist corporate media.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/02/nyt-lies-about-trump-again-with-claim-he-pushed-doj-to-declare-election-corrupt/

Man, that was some weak tea - a pedandic excuse if you will.

Let's keep in mind that Trump still insists the election was "stolen" from him.  It wasn't.  In other words, he continues to commit his assault against our democracy - the "big lie".  What does The Federalist say about that?

Cohen was right and the authors of this piece were right.  The only question left is whether or not MAGAs are going to continue with their effort to enact a coup.  Apparently they are.

[AUFAN78 4,156]

2 hours ago, homersapien said:

Man, that was some weak tea - a pedandic excuse if you will.

Let's keep in mind that Trump still insists the election was "stolen" from him.  It wasn't.  In other words, he continues to commit his assault against our democracy - the "big lie".  What does The Federalist say about that?

Cohen was right and the authors of this piece were right.  The only question left is whether or not MAGAs are going to continue with their effort to enact a coup.  Apparently they are.

Sorry homey, putting something in proper context is not pedantic. It is however a big deal. A really big deal in this instance.

Deflection. Not the topic. 

I'll be kind, the NYT was intentionally dishonest.  

[Grumps 3,706]

So how did this "coup" work? What was the end game? Were the bozos who broke into the capitol building going to sit in the seats of the house and senate members and vote on things as if they were actual congressmen/women? If they had delayed the proceedings of Congress for a week instead of a few hours then what would it have gained them? I don't understand how their actions had any chance of changing anything. It still seems like a bunch of idiots protesting and not a coup.

[aubiefifty 18,231]

2 hours ago, Grumps said:

So how did this "coup" work? What was the end game? Were the bozos who broke into the capitol building going to sit in the seats of the house and senate members and vote on things as if they were actual congressmen/women? If they had delayed the proceedings of Congress for a week instead of a few hours then what would it have gained them? I don't understand how their actions had any chance of changing anything. It still seems like a bunch of idiots protesting and not a coup.

good grief grumps they already admitted they were going to hang pelosi and pence both. they were carrying garbage style plastic ties to handcuff them when they caught them.

[homersapien 12,230]

2 hours ago, Grumps said:

So how did this "coup" work? What was the end game? Were the bozos who broke into the capitol building going to sit in the seats of the house and senate members and vote on things as if they were actual congressmen/women? If they had delayed the proceedings of Congress for a week instead of a few hours then what would it have gained them? I don't understand how their actions had any chance of changing anything. It still seems like a bunch of idiots protesting and not a coup.

No one has claimed it was a well thought out effort that was likely to succeed.  As you point out, it was a clown show conducted by extreme right wingers and other "clowns" who were incited by Trump's lie that the election was being stolen.

But you are totally missing the point - which is that it was an effort - an attempted coup by idiots.

And it was only due to luck they weren't able to actually lay their hands on Pelosi or Pence.  No one really knows what may have happened then.  And even then lives were lost, on both sides.

If we simply 'poo poo' it, it's much more likely to happen again in the future.  Maybe these wackos will orchestrate something better - say, an assassination.  Trump hasn't changed his message and these folks haven't changed their belief in it.

[CoffeeTiger 5,869]

14 hours ago, Grumps said:

So how did this "coup" work? What was the end game? Were the bozos who broke into the capitol building going to sit in the seats of the house and senate members and vote on things as if they were actual congressmen/women? If they had delayed the proceedings of Congress for a week instead of a few hours then what would it have gained them? I don't understand how their actions had any chance of changing anything. It still seems like a bunch of idiots protesting and not a coup.

I think a motivating factor for a lot of them was to try and delay things so that Trump could "prove" election fraud and get the election overturned/recounted/redone. 

They stormed it to stop congress from certifying the election because they bought hook line and sinker from Trump and his toadies that the election was fraudulently stolen from them, and It was Trump and all the R congressmen that gave speeches that day and told the crowd to "fight" "kick ass" and "take back their country" is what pushed those mentally unstable people to do what they did. 

[homersapien 12,230]

Jan. 6 was analogous to Hitler's failed 'beer hall putsch'.  It failed, but failed coup attempts often lead to more attempts.  Don't be surprised if we see another in 2024, if not 2022.  Trump is an authoritarian and he hasn't changed his message. 

What's truly frightening is how many Republican legislators support it.

[Grumps 3,706]

9 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

I think a motivating factor for a lot of them was to try and delay things so that Trump could "prove" election fraud and get the election overturned/recounted/redone. 

They stormed it to stop congress from certifying the election because they bought hook line and sinker from Trump and his toadies that the election was fraudulently stolen from them, and It was Trump and all the R congressmen that gave speeches that day and told the crowd to "fight" "kick ass" and "take back their country" is what pushed those mentally unstable people to do what they did. 

Thanks for your reply!

[TexasTiger 14,292]

23 hours ago, Grumps said:

So how did this "coup" work? What was the end game? Were the bozos who broke into the capitol building going to sit in the seats of the house and senate members and vote on things as if they were actual congressmen/women? If they had delayed the proceedings of Congress for a week instead of a few hours then what would it have gained them? I don't understand how their actions had any chance of changing anything. It still seems like a bunch of idiots protesting and not a coup.

You ignore Trump instructing the Justice Department to declare the election as “corrupt” as a pretext so he could “take it from there.”

[TexasTiger 14,292]

8 hours ago, homersapien said:

Jan. 6 was analogous to Hitler's failed 'beer hall putsch'.  It failed, but failed coup attempts often lead to more attempts.  Don't be surprised if we see another in 2024, if not 2022.  Trump is an authoritarian and he hasn't changed his message. 

What's truly frightening is how many Republican legislators support it.

In 2024 local Republicans will override what they have to to get the results they want.

[jj3jordan 2,171]

4 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

In 2024 local Republicans will override what they have to to get the results they want.

Let’s hope so.

[TexasTiger 14,292]

8 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

Let’s hope so.

Autocracy over democracy. You guys are no better than the Taliban.

[jj3jordan 2,171]

6 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

Autocracy over democracy. You guys are no better than the Taliban.

Not true my friend. We love bacon, treat our women well, and don’t have sex with goats.

[SaltyTiger 8,569]

13 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

In 2024 local Republicans will override what they have to to get the results they want.

Down on the coast. Business 98 on the bay noticed “ Panhandle for Trump Headquarters”. Appeared to be open for business and doing well. 

[Grumps 3,706]

23 hours ago, TexasTiger said:

You ignore Trump instructing the Justice Department to declare the election as “corrupt” as a pretext so he could “take it from there.”

I don't understand what your statement has to do with what the "coup" was trying to achieve? How were those guys going to stop the election results? Did they have ANY shot at succeeding?

[aubaseball 2,819]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:04 AM, aubiefifty said:

this is what the republican party has turned into. lies are the new truth. claiming the election was stolen and then changing facts to fit a narrative that just is not true. trying to sway the justice department to help steal the election from the folks that won it lawfully. all the gas lighting and stirring up hate and encouraging people to punch em in the face. punch em again. words matter. people say i hate trump but i have never encouraged violence against anyone. lets remember that mob wanted to hang pence and pelosi and others as enemies of this great country. you folks on the right encouraged this by denying the harm trump was doing with his bull crap. this was pointed out long before he was elected. and some of you were furious with those sounding the alarm. and of course some still think trump is squeaky clean and they will prove it responding to the article. and the big excuse was everyone said coen was a liar and nothing he said was true. how is that working out for you? you can be in denial all you want and you would be considered a fool by many. go ahead and wear that hat! you guys earned it!

Sort of like “pigs in blanket, fry’em like bacon”.   You mean those kinda chants at protest.  Words like those.  I’m guessing that’s just friendly banter.  

[TexasTiger 14,292]

3 hours ago, Grumps said:

I don't understand what your statement has to do with what the "coup" was trying to achieve? How were those guys going to stop the election results? Did they have ANY shot at succeeding?

Trump thought he did.

[DKW 86 7,906]

trump could say and do whatever he wanted to and it might have been a 1/10000 Beer Hall Putsch, but at no point ws this ever going to happen. trump is a clown show and few dozen extremely deluded media people are of course going to pat themselves on the back for “raising the alarm” but the truth is that at no time was this in any way a serious threat.  Go ask Genl Milley what he was willing to do to stop any half assed coup attempt. Anyone that thinks this had a 1/100000000 chance needs to put down the crack pipe. The American military was going to run djt the hell out of the WH at noon on 1-20-21 and thats just how it was going to end. 

[AUDub 11,845]

1 hour ago, DKW 86 said:

trump could say and do whatever he wanted to and it might have been a 1/10000 Beer Hall Putsch, but at no point ws this ever going to happen. trump is a clown show and few dozen extremely deluded media people are of course going to pat themselves on the back for “raising the alarm” but the truth is that at no time was this in any way a serious threat.  Go ask Genl Milley what he was willing to do to stop any half assed coup attempt. Anyone that thinks this had a 1/100000000 chance needs to put down the crack pipe. The American military was going to run djt the hell out of the WH at noon on 1-20-21 and thats just how it was going to end. 

You really have no idea how close to the edge we were on a constitutional crisis. 

[AUDub 11,845]

6 hours ago, Grumps said:

I don't understand what your statement has to do with what the "coup" was trying to achieve? How were those guys going to stop the election results? Did they have ANY shot at succeeding?

Yes. Georgia was literally a hair's breadth away.

Imagine we get another close election and we didn't have a guy with the integrity of Brad Raffensperger overseeing the election in, for instance, Georgia. 

Hey guess what the Rs are doing right now? Removing guys like him from the equation. 

[AUDub 11,845]

On 8/3/2021 at 10:52 PM, jj3jordan said:

Let’s hope so.

Utterly shameful. 

[aubaseball 2,819]

6 hours ago, AUDub said:

Yes. Georgia was literally a hair's breadth away.

Imagine we get another close election and we didn't have a guy with the integrity of Brad Raffensperger overseeing the election in, for instance, Georgia. 

Hey guess what the Rs are doing right now? Removing guys like him from the equation. 

All I want to know from anyone that is responsible for any election results are… how many voters were legally registered to vote in each county, and how many votes were actually counted?   I’m for the person that can give me those numbers.