Wednesday’s live impeachment hearings have brought Washington, D.C., to a standstill, with journalists crowded around televisions in offices across the city, and bars even offering impeachment-themed daytime specials. Suffice it to say, today’s hearings are a big development in the Democrats impeachment investigation.
Everyone has strong feelings on the matter. After all, we’re talking about potentially ousting a duly elected president from office. But for Trump supporters, strong feelings don’t justify irresponsible rhetoric — and irresponsible rhetoric is what they peddle when they call the impeachment proceedings a “coup.”
Corrupt Adam Schiff has a documented history of lying to you!
1️⃣ He LIED about having proof of Russia collusion
2️⃣ He LIED about coordinating w/ the “whistleblower”
3️⃣ He LIED about @realDonaldTrump’s transcript
Now he’s leading a COUP based on LIES to take away your vote!
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 13, 2019
The Left has been scheming towards impeachment for 3 years — but today the premeditated coup comes out from behind closed doors.
Impeachment Commissar @RepAdamSchiff‘s bankrupt process will be exposed for having absolutely zero evidence!#StopTheSchiffShow https://t.co/ecCOKTeNYn
— Rep. Jody Hice (@CongressmanHice) November 13, 2019
Adam Schiff – J.D., Harvard
Bill Taylor – A.B., Harvard
George Kent – A.B., Harvard
Alex Vindman – M.A., Harvard
Eric Ciaramella – M.A., HarvardThis is an aristocratic coup
But America is not an aristocracy#ImpeachmentHearings
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) November 13, 2019
Coup update. https://t.co/23ux5Yt5hW
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 13, 2019
First, let’s define the word coup. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a coup in this context is “a sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power, especially by part of an army.”
Even if you disagree with the impeachment of President Trump — and it’s a complicated enough call that good people will disagree in good faith — it’s clearly not an illegal overthrow. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, while undoubtedly political in their aims, are still going through the impeachment process as laid out in the Constitution. Trump will get a public hearing in the House, a formal vote on articles of impeachment, and a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate.
That’s not exactly what usurpers would do in a coup d’etat.
Of course, conservatives have been using the coup rhetoric for some time, but it did uptick as a result of the revelation of a 2017 social media post by Mark Zaid, one of the whistleblower’s lawyers, that called for a coup against Trump. This was irresponsible of Zaid, to say the least, and it calls his credibility into question. It does not, however, somehow rhetorically transform the entire proceeding into an illegal overthrow of the constitutional order. Republicans are wrong to ascribe to the entire process and all Democrats the years-old musings of one lawyer connected to one person involved.
We’re living in an intense time of political polarization and tribalism, with impeachment perhaps the most divisive issue in recent memory. Journalists, commentators, and political actors have a responsibility to at least try to keep a cool head and refrain from extreme hyperbole. No matter how wrong they are, it is irresponsible to accuse Democrats of a violent, illegal overthrow just for going through the constitutional process to remove a president.
Even Republicans who say Democrats are “trying to overturn the results of an election,” while somewhat less extreme than coup in their rhetoric, aren’t really correct. To overturn the results of the 2016 presidential election would mean tossing Trump out of office and swearing in Hillary Clinton. Handing Vice President Mike Pence the keys to the Oval Office isn’t exactly the same thing as inaugurating Clinton.
Trump Republicans need to calm down and keep a cool head. Defending the president will require convincing Americans outside of just the president’s base. There’s a case to be made in his defense — but it won’t convince anyone if it’s drowned out by hyperbole.
