Make No Mistake: This is A Coup

My friends,

It is 3:00 AM on November 4th, the morning after Election Day. The Associated Press has called 238 electors for former Vice President Joseph Biden, and 213 for President Donald Trump. Neither candidate has collected the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the election. Despite this, President Trump has just declared victory.

In a speech rife with lies and baseless implications this morning, President Trump sought to paint a picture of an election being stolen from him. Declaring victory in states yet to be called, President Trump worked to sow confusion and undermine the results. When discussing states like Pennsylvania, where mail-in ballots will likely shift results in favor of Democrats, Trump tried to obfuscate the nature of his current leads, suggesting they were insurmountable. “Frankly, we did win this election,” President Trump announced. This is a lie, and it is a lie that undermines the democratic institutions we pride ourselves on in the United States of America.

President Trump did not stop there. He went on to say,

“So we’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court. We want all the voting to stop. We don’t want them to find any ballots at 4 o’clock in the morning and add them to the list.”

I was watching this live, and I was and am terrified. This is far beyond what is so often brushed off as “sarcasm” or “a joke.” This is a clear and deliberate attack on our democracy. It is a denial of the people’s right to decide who leads them. It is authoritarian and it is un-American.

There are votes that were cast on or before Election Day that have yet to be counted. President Trump is attempting to throw them all away. This is a coup. President Trump is an authoritarian, and he is launching a coup. Democrats must not support this. Republicans must not support this. Our democracy is more important than any political party. If ever there was a time for unity in this country, it is now.

If ever there was a time for action, it too is now. As members of a democracy, we have a responsibility to maintain it. Below are a number of different opportunities to fight back against Trump’s coup, and make sure every single vote is counted. I hope you will join me in doing what we can to protect the vote. In the words of the late Representative John Lewis, it’s time to get in some “good trouble.”

In Solidarity,

Liam J. Holden

Opportunities for Good Trouble:

Count Every Vote in Philadelphia Rally (11/4, 1:00 PM)

Count Every Vote in Delaware County Rally (11/4, 3:00 PM)

Count Every Vote in Montgomery County PA Rally (11/4, 3:30 PM)

Sunrise Movement “What Comes Next?” Call (11/4, 9:00 PM)

Sunrise Movement PA Post-Election Call (11/6, 8:00 PM)

Count Every Vote in Montgomery County, PA Rally (11/7, 9:00 AM)