Unsolicited Advice to Trumpers

 I write this as an outsider. I did not want Trump to be reelected. I wanted him gone. I will be pleased when he is gone.  I voted for Jo Jorgensen,  but  I am not among those who condemn others for voting for Trump.  

It is time for  people who supported Trump to behave as patriots and stand up for the Constitution and laws of this republic. Trump’s behavior since the election has been ridiculous, disgraceful, and harmful to the country, but up until Monday it was at least legal. (There is no law against being delusional, telling outrageous whoppers, filing doomed and foolish lawsuits, or making a worse ass of oneself than usual.)  That is no longer true. He and various Trumpers in the media are now talking about having the house and senate refuse to accept the certified and transmitted votes of the electors of the states and instead declare Trump to be reelected.  That is pretty much by definition advocating a coup d’état.  It won’t happen  of course. It is a crazy fantasy that no one needs to take seriously as a possibility, but it is still serious.

I understand people who voted for him had their reasons, some of them good ones. I understand they were disappointed or even terrified by the results of the election. I know many of them believe they were cheated.  None of that matters here. Trump has now as much as declared himself an enemy of the republic.  His supporters can still wish he had won, can still be worried about the Dems, can still think the game was crooked, but they must reject his efforts to overthrow the government and Constitution.  That is they must if they wish to behave as decent and good Americans who love their country.