Are Republicans trying to corral Trump before he blows up?

[lutherj]

There has been much talk here of Republicans trying to orchestrate a coup, and I can understand the concern. But I'm wondering if we're misreading what's happening. Sen. Chris Coons announced that many Republican senators have called him asking him to convey their congrats to Biden. They say they can't speak openly yet. I have heard several analysts comment that the Trump campaign lawsuits challenging election results are so without merit that they are laughed out of court. Neal Katyal in an interview with Katie Couric speculated that they were theater for Trump's sake, to make him feel that he has a chance. I speculate that Republicans are genuinely concerned about what Trump will do once he is confronted with the reality that he lost. Nuke Iran? Declassify troves of top secret information? If this is what's going on, perhaps they are discussing invoking the 25th Amendment, or giving him the option to resign in exchange for a pardon. I know I'm giving them way more credit than they deserve, but that's what the pieces are starting to look like to me.

[Blue Owl]

1. Cover the WH interior with plastic sheeting and let him blow

[empedocles]

2. Just cover trump with plastic sheeting, or plastic bubble, and let him do whatever

[marylandblue]

3. No, they are humouring in his attempt at an autocratic breakthrough

Because if they don't he will make them lose their next elections. They are hoping that the state election processes and the courts will hold the line. They are probably correct, but there is a chance they are not and he actually could breakthrough.

In a vaguely similar situation, Roman Senators stabbed Caesar to save the Republic, the people turned against the Senators, and the Republic soon failed anyway. That's where we are now.

[getagrip_already]

4. you are giving them too much credit I suspect.....

The only people who could broach the subject of an escape path are the kids, and they are egging him on.

The rest of the shit gibbons are just waiting out the storm. They don't intend to help the country. They just want the hurricane to pass by without killing them.

[lanlady]

5. I think this needs to be taken very seriously

Shake-up at DOD... serious implications
Threat to fire other "deep state" agency heads like Wray and Haspel
Barr's latest skullduggery
Pompeo's sedition-laced remarks
Pence gone missing - is he being shoved aside?
Right-wing media in lock-step to challenge the legitimacy of the election
Pressure on the Georgia SoS
Lawsuits galore
March for Trump on Saturday
Don Jr moving to take over the RNC

and it's only Tuesday!!

[Clearly fogged in]

6. For brevity we say CYA

eta - this is the part where no one was a fill-in-the-blank. All these are individual instances of people distancing themselves from their creation.

[awesomerwb1]

7. lol no

[Shermann]

8. He just doesn't want to be an admitted loser for the next 71 days

He'll walk away on Jan 20 without much fanfare and with one finger up in the air.

[Different Drummer]

11. Which one?

[JHB]

9. No. They'll let Trump be Trump, won't actively discourage his flailing...

...but neither will they unequivocally back it.

Unless, of course, he manages to shake a wildcard loose and get an unexpected win. They'll play games, but should an actual path to winning appear, they'll jump at it without hesitation. They've proven that repeatedly.

Odds are against them getting one, but they'll keep their options open for as long as they can.

[CentralMass]

10. Not hardly. He has Moscow Mitch and Barr hatching his coup.

[WyattKansas]

12. Their Criminal Cabal will play their part for THEIR Dear Leader and if it falls apart...

Then they will claim they saved the country from him after they just milked everything, leveraged, and got more shredding time to insulate themselves and keep them in power longer. The miserable shit stains need to burn for eternity for the selfish deeds and destruction to only benefit themselves.

Investigative reporters, private investigators, and Former Republicans need to pull the veil off all their dirty secrets and past criminal behavior exposing them all for what they really are and damage done to every one of their constituents. And NO Democratic politician should ever trust them to do the right things or ever give them the same good will considerations the Dems would offer them.

After what this country just went through and is still going through, it should have been CRYSTAL CLEAR to the Democratic Party that Republicans will now immediately go for their throats every chance they get while another is picking their pockets and yet another in front of the media telling people how evil the Dems are and have to be eliminated from the government... With yet another ramming through laws to eliminate everything the Dems have ever won for a Century. The same masochistic position for decades only resulted in a dangerous escalation from Republicans, just like a wife beater keeps beating the hell out of his wife that accepts the blame for it. ENOUGH!

It is NOT the responsibility of the Democratic Party to change for Republicans, it is the Republican Party's duty to change for the American People and the country... That is the basic error that never gets corrected for decades.

[Thomas Hurt]

13. Hell, they are walking hand in hand with him to the cliff.

[matt819]

14. Whatever they're doing

It’s not about reining him in. They lack the will and the spine to do that.

Don’t care about the secret congratulations. Means nothing if they are too cowardly to go public with what little decency they may have left.

We can talk about coups and declaring war all we want. On January 20, 2021 joe Biden will become president. The us and world may be in even more turmoil than now, but it will be joe to set things right.

[Trenzalore]

15. They have no ability to stand up to him

Any speculation that they will is ridiculous based on 4 years of their behavior.

[lutherj]

16. Thanks everybody for your imput. After a good night's sleep I realized how ridiculous that was.

I personally don't think there's much possibility of a coup. The election is clearly decided, and I don't think the courts or the US military are going to get their hands dirty for the sake of Donald Trump. Even the republicans are sick of him.

McConnell et al., are humoring Trump & his basket of deplorables because they know Trump will continue to have influence, and they need Trump's support to try to win the senate seats in Georgia. Trump is working to keep his base fired up so he can fund raise and hold rallies and continue to make money off them. Of course, in the process, they are undermining US security and the integrity of American elections, all while normalizing the actions that could lead to a coup. But Trump and the republican leadership all know this election is over.