Former President Donald Trump is “not into coups!”
Trump clarified his stance on illegal seizures of government power Thursday in a statement posted on his official website after reports started trickling out about a top general's claim in an upcoming book that there was concern the former president may try to seize power through a coup.
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“Despite massive Voter Fraud and Irregularities during the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, that we are now seeing play out in very big and important States, I never threatened, or spoke about, to anyone, a coup of our Government,” said the former president, who was voted out after one term last year.
Even before election results came in, Trump had started to rally behind unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. He continues to promote these claims (as can be seen in the statement) even though they have been debunked by many, including his own attorney general, William Barr.
Voter fraud claims were central to a Jan. 6 speech Trump gave in Washington D.C. just before his supporters participated in a violent and deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as Congress was attempting to certify election results for current President Joe Biden.
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According to the Associated Press, Trump’s recent statement comes partially in response to “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year” a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker expected to be published July 20.
Excepts from the book reveal that former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley “was so concerned that Trump or his allies might try to use the military to remain in power that he and other top officials strategized about how they might block him,” said the Associated Press.
Milley, who graduated from Princeton University and served in the Special Forces for nearly four decades, also reportedly compared Trump to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
“This is a Reichstag moment,” Milley told aides about Trumps election lies, according to MSNBC. “The gospel of the Führer.”
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Regarding Milley, Trump said he only chose him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff because “the world’s most overrated general, James Mattis,” who served as U.S. secretary of defense under Trump, hated the fellow high-ranking military official.
“Sorry to inform you, but an Election is my form of ‘coup,’ and if I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley,” Trump said in his statement Thursday.
Although Trump is still banned from Twitter and a recently-launched pro-Trump social media app has already had issues, the former president has found ways to stay in the public eye and he still has a strong fanbase in the Republican party.
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In addition to his statement this week, Trump as been appearing at campaign-style events. He also recently discussed a potential 2024 presidential run with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Audacy station KMOX recently featured broadcaster Bob Costas speaking about Trump and Republicans.