Donald Trump/self-coup

About

As predicted by many observers, especially towards the end of his time in office, Trump and his team developed plans to ensure he stayed in office regardless of the outcome of the 2020 election, which he ultimately lost to Joe Biden.

The most visible result of these plans so far has been the January 6 insurrection. This attempt to take over the US Capitol building by force, disrupt the legitimate electoral process and have Trump declared the winner of the election even though he clearly lost, and possibly kill or injure members of Congress who opposed Trump remaining in power (Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence were specifically targeted). Although this attempt failed, it would appear to have been no more than a practice run and part of the general plan to encourage distrust of the electoral process amongst Trump's support base.

More dangerously, the Trumpists are now working hard to put obedient supporters into key positions within the electoral system where they can dishonestly claim Trumpist candidates won even when they did not. Using false claims of rampant voter fraud and that the 2020 election was stolen as justification, they have also pushed for draconian changes to state election laws giving them more and direct control over the process. A great deal now hangs on how far they can get with this by the time of the 2022 midterm elections.

The Trumpist plans are also completely in sync with the longstanding Republican strategy of disempowering voters unlikely to support them, through various vote suppression methods including restricting poll access, voter intimidation, voter ID requirements, and gerrymandering.

Key Events

• 2021/03/25- US/GA/2021 county election board purge
• 2021/01/06 January 6 insurrection
• 2021/01/05 Trump self-coup strategy document
• 2021/01/02 Trump phones Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to illegally "find votes" sufficient to declare Biden the loser (which he wasn't). Raffensperger declines to act on this request.
  • 2021/01/03
    • In call, Trump demands Georgia officials 'find' votes to tilt election
    • Read the full transcript and listen to Trump's audio call with Georgia secretary of state

Links

• 2021-12-14 Axios: Secretary of State races become fundraising cash magnet
• 2021-12-06
  • The Atlantic: Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun (long) «January 6 was practice. Donald Trump’s GOP is much better positioned to subvert the next election.»
  • AP News: Trump-tied group pushing for voting changes in Wisconsin «...a ballot measure that would bypass the state’s Democratic governor to change how elections are run in the battleground state.»
• 2021-12-01 Washington Post: How Trump-backed secretary of state candidates would change elections in the United States$ (archive.org) «The ultimate win for [the Trumpists] would be to put in place secretaries of state, who oversee how elections are conducted in most states and sign off on the results. More than any other category of elected official, secretaries of state could be instrumental in overturning the popular vote in their state — an unprecedented move in American history — or take other actions that throw results into question.»
• 2021-11-29 Washington Post: Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges$ (archive.org) «The effort goes far beyond the former president’s public broadsides against well-known Republican state officials who certified President Biden’s victory, such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. Citing the need to make elections more secure, Trump allies are also seeking to replace officials across the nation, including volunteer poll watchers, paid precinct judges, elected county clerks and state attorneys general...»
• 2021-11-03 AP News: GOP chair funds Michigan ballot drive to toughen voting law «The primary funder of a ballot drive to toughen Michigan's voter identification law and restrict mass mailings of unsolicited absentee ballot applications is Ron Weiser, chairman of the state Republican Party.»
• 2021-03-22 NBC News: Trump endorses challenger to Ga. Secretary of State Raffensperger: Trump supports Jody Hice to replace Raffensberger