AMERICA'S FASCIST COUP

Call It What It Is: The Coup That Has Seized America

Throughout history, coups have taken many forms. Still, their essence remains the same: the illegitimate seizure of power, often under the guise of legality but permanently dismantling democratic institutions and replacing them with autocratic rule. What we are witnessing today with Trump, Musk, and the MAGA movement is nothing less than a coup unfolding slowly, insidiously, and in plain sight. We must stop pretending otherwise and name it for what it is.

What Is a Coup?

A coup d'état, or simply a coup, is a government's sudden and illegal overthrow. Historically, coups have been associated with military takeovers, where armed forces seize control in a dramatic display of power. However, coups can also be conducted through bureaucratic, judicial, and corporate maneuvers that quietly erode democratic systems from within.

There are different types of coups:

• Military Coup – The classic example is when armed forces take over the government (e.g., Chile in 1973, Egypt in 2013).
• Self-Coup – When a sitting leader consolidates power, often by dismantling democratic institutions and rewriting laws (e.g., Hitler in 1933, Putin in Russia).
• Electoral Coup – When a leader uses fraudulent or manipulated elections to remain in power (e.g., Belarus under Lukashenko).
• Corporate Coup – When economic elites seize control of political institutions, steering policies for their gain (e.g., the rise of oligarchic control in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union).

Trump and his allies, particularly billionaire enablers like Elon Musk, are executing a slow-moving hybrid coup, employing elements of both a self-coup and a corporate coup. Unlike the violent coups of the past, this one is unfolding through judicial manipulation, voter suppression, the dismantling of the civil service, and the consolidation of economic power.

How Is the Trump-Musk-MAGA Movement Pulling Off a Coup?

1. The War on Government Institutions—Trump and his allies are methodically dismantling the governance structures that keep democracy functioning. With the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, they plan to replace career civil servants with ideological loyalists, ensuring that agencies serve only the autocrat’s interests. This is the systematic destruction of the administrative state, one of the key steps in executing a coup.
2. Weaponizing the Courts – By stacking the judiciary with extreme-right judges, Trump and his allies are ensuring that laws and rulings will favor their cause, effectively neutering checks and balances. The Supreme Court now tilted toward MAGA ideology, has already begun ruling in ways that erode voting rights and expand presidential immunity—both key ingredients in an autocratic takeover.
3. Control of Information – Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter (now X) was not merely a business move but a strategic step in controlling the national discourse. By turning the platform into a breeding ground for right-wing propaganda, Musk has provided Trump with an unfettered channel to spread disinformation and suppress dissent.
4. The Illusion of a Free Election—An actual election requires a level playing field. Instead, we see voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the intimidation of election officials. The strategy is clear: keep enough people from voting, discredit the election process itself, and have courts ready to back MAGA claims if results are unfavorable.
5. Corporate Power Consolidation – Musk, Trump, and other billionaires are merging corporate power with government control. Policies are being shaped not for the people but to benefit the ultra-wealthy and silence opposition. This is reminiscent of how authoritarian regimes co-opt economic elites to ensure compliance.

This Is a Coup—Call It What It Is

Coups do not always come with tanks in the streets. Sometimes, they arrive disguised as policy reforms, legal maneuvers, and billionaire-backed propaganda campaigns. Trump and Musk are orchestrating a transformation of the United States into an authoritarian state that serves the elite while crushing democracy. If we continue to treat this as “just another election” or “partisan politics,” we are complicit in normalizing the destruction of our democracy.

History warns us that once a coup is complete, it is nearly impossible to reverse without extreme measures. We must recognize what is happening and act before it is too late. Calling it what it is—a coup—is the first step in resisting it.

William James Spriggs