The Brief: As Donald Trump makes efforts to deny that he's lost the 2020 election, people are coping via memes about a possible coup d'état.
DEEP DIVE
Coup memes joke about and remark on the possibility that Donald Trump is trying to steal the 2020 election, even after a large majority of results are in and it’s clear that Joe Biden has been elected president. Trump has made unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, filed lawsuits claiming that votes were illegitimate, and repeatedly tweeted misinformation including that he’d “won the election by a lot.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters “there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration” and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t said that Trump should concede.
Many coup d’état memes note that although it’s not entirely clear if Trump is attempting a coup, the possibility isn’t a comforting one. As Dahlia Lithwick wrote in a Slate article, “It’s either a creeping authoritarian coup, or just a really annoying sequel to a horror movie that seems never to end. We’re either experiencing something really profoundly worrisome, or this is just the coddling of a narcissist who just needs a cozy offramp.”
In classic 2020 fashion, people are taking to Twitter to joke and discuss whether or not this is the end of democracy as we know it.
It's only a coup if it comes from the Coup region of France; otherwise it's just Sparkling Authoritarianism
— CHAOTIC NEUTRAL arrives 9/20 (@edburmila) November 10, 2020
Can’t tell if we have the coup or it’s just coup-like symptoms.
— Max Berger (@maxberger) November 11, 2020
If “Trump attempts a coup” wasn’t on your 2020 bingo card, were you even paying attention?
so what is everyone wearing to the coup?
— kylie brakeman (@deadeyebrakeman) November 10, 2020
If shit gets real and a coup is underway, I have a devastating tweet all loaded up.
— Scott Shapiro (@scottjshapiro) November 11, 2020
Can’t tell you how many, “folks, here’s why the coup will work,” 40-part threads I’ve read only to click on the twitter bio after to see, “co-producer, One Tree Hill,” or whatever
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) November 11, 2020
Friendly reminder coup is supposed to be pronounced with a hard P so that it rhymes with "poop" https://t.co/AK1wrRb5mF
— The Big Peefie (@lizcsommer) November 11, 2020
the ongoing coup is just theater but there’s like 70million people inside the theater who think they’re watching the news not the blair witch project
— ☕netw3rk (@netw3rk) November 11, 2020
Guys it’s not a coup d'etat, it’s a coup d'etotal landscaping
— VVO)))LFMAN (@TheWolfman) November 11, 2020