Donald Trump hinted at some kind of secret plan that would allow Republicans to do well in next week’s election. But it’s probably something completely legal and ethical...
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While much of the coverage of Donald Trump’s hate-filled Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday has focused on the vile rhetoric he and his supporters spewed, perhaps the most important thing that was said got a lot less attention. At one point, the former president hinted at a “little secret” that would have a “big impact,” which has raised eyebrows… and concerns that he is planning another coup.
“I think with our little secret we are gonna do really well with the House, our little secret is having a big impact, he and I have a little secret, we will tell you what it is when the race is over,” Trump said.
It is not entirely clear to whom Trump was referring. However, the reference to the House seems to indicate that it may have been House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who also spoke at the rally, or perhaps Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), whom the former president had referenced earlier in his remarks.
As to what this dirty little secret is, there has been speculation that it may involve a plot that would allow Trump to steal the election if he does not prevail at the ballot box.
In that scenario, i.e., if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the Electoral College, the goal would be to dispute the outcome and create so much doubt and chaos that no winner is declared, and the election would be settled in the House of Representatives.
In that case, the House would vote to elect the president, with every state delegation receiving a single vote. Currently, Republicans are holding a slight edge in state delegations, which means that, if every GOP-controlled state goes along with this anti-democratic charade, Trump could become president.
Oh, and US democracy would cease to exist.
It is almost unfathomable that all Republican states would participate in such a naked power grab, but it is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
And don’t look to the courts for assistance if this is how Trump wants to attempt another coup. The Supreme Court has already demonstrated that it is firmly in the former president’s corner.
Democrats are worried about this scenario.
On Monday morning, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) laid out what this would look like.
He suggested that Trump campaigned in New York, a state he is certain to lose, because it plays a huge role in who will control the House next year.
And because the new members of Congress are sworn in on January 3, i.e., three days before the certification of the Electoral College votes, if Johnson were in charge of the House at that time, he could help sow the necessary chaos.
“I suspect, we don’t know, but I suspect, Donald Trump’s little secret plan with Mike Johnson is a back-up plan for when he loses, and he tries to go to the House of Representatives to throw out the Electoral College […] and have the House of Representatives, under the leadership and control [of] Mike Johnson, try to overturn this election,” Goldman said on CNN.
So, why would Trump spill the beans? For one because he isn’t terribly bright. In addition, very little that he says or does would cost him support at this point, so why not?
Of course, if Harris had alluded to having some kind of secret plan with congressional Democrats, the entire MAGAverse would lose its collective mind.
If all of this were to pass, it is really important to keep in mind that this was the strategy even before the election, and Americans should put maximum pressure on their state delegations in the House to refuse to overturn the results.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
