On this Veteran’s Day, many are worried about a coup by the president. Let’s be watchful but trust the patriotic and law-abiding citizens among us to do their jobs as professionals. There are certainly alarming things about Trump’s post-election rhetoric and that of his allies.

/2 Repeatedly claiming the election was rigged is disgraceful and anti-democratic. It sows suspicion and division. It raises outsized hopes that the will of the people will somehow be overthrown. Such language undermines our institutions.

/3 But a coup can’t happen without a lot of orchestration and acquiescence. There has been more norm-breaking but not yet any lawbreaking. Trust election officials—Democrats, Republicans, and volunteers—to finish counting the votes and certify the election results in every state.

/4 Trust our military leaders and soldiers to know the difference between a legal order and an illegal one, and to refuse to obey the latter. Trust the judges hearing the losing candidate’s election challenges to put aside any personal preferences and enforce the law.

/5 So far, Trump has come forward with next to nothing in terms of evidence of fraud and has lost nearly every case. Not even a conservative Supreme Court will save someone who lost by over 5 million votes and a significant Electoral College margin.

/6 And as long as these margins hold in multiple states, trust state legislators to refrain from doing anything to usurp their constituents’ choice of the next president.

/7 Biden’s doing the right thing by remaining calm and planning to take over. The rest of us should keep paying close attention without contributing to conditions that would actually invite a reaction and destabilize things. And trust the rest of the process to play out.

/8 Happy Veteran’s Day. Thanks to all who serve. /END