# It wasn’t a coup **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2021, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407 "2021-01-13T05:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/402 "2021-01-21T04:21:44Z")
> [@MustangSal](#): > > Do you really think Former President Trump instructed man/bear/pig to Seize Congress? and proclaim him President for life? I really do. _Because_ he’s an idiot and a psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/403 "2021-01-21T04:22:55Z")
Well we disagree. Conspiracy theories abound in the interweb. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/404 "2021-01-21T04:23:58Z")
Yeah, I don’t think there is any doubt it was a coup attempt. > **[Army falsely denied Flynn’s brother was involved in key part of military...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/flynn-national-guard-call-riot/2021/01/20/7f4f41ba-5b4c-11eb-aaad-93988621dd28_story.html)** > > The outgoing Army secretary said it is “incredibly awkward” for Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, the brother of retired general Michael Flynn, who has voiced support for the extreme ideology QAnon. (May be paywalled.) “Awkward” is one word for it. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/405 "2021-01-21T04:25:53Z")
Yes he is an idiot and psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/406 "2021-01-21T04:27:16Z")
It just wasn’t a coup attempt ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/407 "2021-01-21T04:30:10Z")
What a weirdly low stakes troll account. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/408 "2021-01-21T04:31:32Z")
Well I’m just agreeing with OP. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/409 "2021-01-21T04:33:03Z")
They DID just ban BryanAdams for socking… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/410 "2021-01-21T04:43:07Z")
You seem awfully invested in denying that it was a coup. Where were you on 1-6? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/411 "2021-01-21T04:48:00Z")
They also said there’s no indication that Charles shares Mike’s extreme views and that there’s no indication the relationship had any influence on his actions that day. Assuming I read things right, he wasn’t involved in the go/no go decision but he would have been expected to help execute the go decision. The real issue isn’t whether he was on the call or not, it’s that the Army _lied_ about it for two week.s ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/412 "2021-01-21T04:48:05Z")
Sitting at home, disgusted by the yahoos. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/413 "2021-01-21T04:50:18Z")
I’m sure you read it right. But I’d say it merits further investigation, for sure. Why _did_ they lie? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/414 "2021-01-21T04:53:05Z")
> [@MustangSal](#): > > Do you really think Former President Trump instructed man/bear/pig to Seize Congress? and proclaim him President for life? Do we think Trump had a carefully thought-out plan to lead a coordinated attack on Congress to achieve that goal? No, I don’t think anyone here is suggesting that, because the words “Trump” and “careful”, or “thought”, or “plan”, or “coordinated”, or “achieve”, don’t really go together. Do we think that Trump knew there was some attention-getting disruptive shit planned and did his best to agitate the shitpot for maximum disruption and attention, willing to opportunistically seize whatever he could get out of it? Yes, that seems like a very reasonable inference from reliable reports and the evidence of our own eyes. I don’t know why you’re being so resistant to calling that a coup attempt. I think if your reasoning is that it doesn’t count as a coup attempt because Trump must have known it wouldn’t be defensible and wouldn’t ultimately have worked, you are giving Trump FAR too much credit for rational thought. He still thinks he’s basically running a reality show and the only really important aspect is his ratings. But just because he doesn’t have any kind of intelligently informed idea of what a coup is or how to execute one effectively doesn’t mean that his attempt at one doesn’t count as an attempt. When a toddler wants to watch Teletubbies and shoves a piece of toast into the DVD player, the toddler was attempting to watch Teletubbies. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/415 "2021-01-21T04:54:42Z")
They didn’t lie. Left wing conspiracies are as nonsensical as right wing Qanon nonsense ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/416 "2021-01-21T04:57:36Z")
I hate it when Pit Threads devolve into detailed analysis of literary themes and subtext. Fuck That! 😁 Sometimes you can’t help but learn something here. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/417 "2021-01-21T05:00:37Z")
Which of the following are qanon-style ridiculous left wing conspiracy theories: 1. The police forces normally responsible for security at this sort of event were understaffed 2. The panic buttons in the offices of various congresspeople were tampered with and disabled in the days leading up to 1/6 3. The national guard and outside police help were initially denied the authorization to reinforce the capitol by Trump himself or people in his administration until they actually went around Trump and talked to Pence/Pelosi/Schumer/McConnel directly 4. There were unauthorized tours organized by insurrectionist sympathizers in congress in the days prior to 1/6 that were designed to show the layout o the building 5. Those same insurrectionists in congress live tweeted or otherwise communicated where congress was being moved to? There are others I’m forgetting. This is all off the top of my head. Calling this qanon type conspiracy theories is utterly retarded. There was clearly activity within the Trump administration designed to suppress the security and response to the insurrection attempt at the capitol in order to make it more likely to succeed. This wasn’t spontaneous. This was deliberate and planned. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/418 "2021-01-21T05:01:03Z")
The only thing I will admit, is that Trump is an idiot that revved up the crowd of morons which ultimately lend to the seat of our democracy being ransacked. That is not a coup attempt. ---
**Author:** ![MustangSal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mustangsal/32/6327_2.png) [@MustangSal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MustangSal)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/419 "2021-01-21T05:05:15Z")
Thanks for detailing your conspiracy theory. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/420 "2021-01-21T05:09:18Z")
If I link 3 news sources that confirm each of those things is true, is the entire media also then in on the conspiracy theory? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2021, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407/421 "2021-01-21T05:10:22Z")
> [@MustangSal](#): > > The only thing I will admit, is that Trump is an idiot that revved up the crowd of morons which ultimately lend to the seat of our democracy being ransacked. Are you aware that a significant fraction of those morons had very definite plans for criminal behavior to disrupt the legislative certification of the election as much as possible? Ultimately pretty stupid plans, but still specific aims and plans with the goal of overturning the election? > [@MustangSal](#): > > That is not a coup attempt. Your claim seems to be depending on the assumption that a coup attempt has to be intelligently planned and realistic in its goals in order to count. I think that assumption isn’t warranted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-wasn-t-a-coup/930407.md?page=22)