{"id":4001,"date":"2026-07-27T19:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001"},"modified":"2026-07-27T19:09:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T19:09:06","slug":"antidemocratic-plot-afoot-presidential-historian-exposes-trumps-slow-moving-coup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001","title":{"rendered":"‘Antidemocratic plot afoot’: Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s ‘slow-moving coup’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In recent months, experts have pointed to various warning signs that President Donald Trump is engaged in a \u201cslow-moving coup\u201d as he attempts to maintain his grip on power. On Monday, with the highly consequential midterms less than 100 days away, a leading presidential historian took to Vanity Fair<\/u> to assert there is an \u201cantidemocratic plot afoot,\u201d and to explain Trump\u2019s \u201cauthoritarian formula.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump just demanded Senate change rules to pass his policies \u2014 and it\u2019s DOA<\/a><\/p>\n

According to lawyer and presidential historian James Robenalt, \u201cThere’s a radical, antidemocratic plot afoot, cooked up at the highest levels of the Trump executive branch \u2014 drawing in the Department of Justice, the leadership of the intelligence community, and possibly even the Pentagon \u2014 to tilt November\u2019s midterm elections to Republican candidates, so as to ensure that the president\u2019s party retains control of the House and Senate.” As Robenalt explains, the plot is revealed by Trump\u2019s effort to federalize elections, which the Constitution very clearly states are to be overseen by states. Trump has attempted to assert federal control via executive order, but has been \u201cconsistently\u201d and \u201ceasily\u201d rebuked by the courts, as the Constitution allows only Congress to override state mandates.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump\u2019s defeats in court help explain his fixation on the so-called SAVE America Act, short for \u2018Safeguard American Voter Eligibility,\u2019\u201d writes Robenalt. \u201cThe president has even admitted, however grudgingly, that only Congress can create new election standards. The proposed bill, already considered by a somewhat skeptical House, and even more wary Senate, fuses two of Trump\u2019s favorite obsessions: illegal immigration and voter fraud. Illegal immigration helped carry him to victory in 2016; alleged rigged elections powered some of his political messaging in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf enacted, the SAVE America bill would make states demand documentary proof of citizenship \u2014 passports, birth certificates and the like \u2014 before voters could register or update their registration, and would require the corresponding paperwork to be presented in person to a local board,\u201d but according to Robenalt, repeated pushback from both sides of the aisle suggests that Congress won\u2019t pass the bill. \u201cHere, then, is where the story turns thorny,\u201d he writes. \u201cIf Congress chooses not to support initiatives to curb certain types of voting or certain types of voters, Trump and his surrogates have other options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst off,\u201d he explains, \u201cthey have been using what many observers consider an authoritarian formula to attack democracy itself: attempting, through public pronouncements and a flurry of activities, to slowly and steadily degrade voters\u2019 confidence in election integrity; raise the specter of criminal indictments of enemies; increase the rhetoric against \u2018violent left-wing extremists\u2019 and \u2018communists\u2019; and take endless swipes at the free press.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Whistleblower explains the real reason Trump wants to use a nuclear weapon<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSecondly,\u201d Robenalt continues, \u201cthe administration\u2019s recent moves fit a pattern. Remove election guardians and guardrails. Weaken intelligence channels that might deter foreign interference. Use strong-arm tactics, such as the confiscation of old ballots, to intimidate officials and possibly serve as a dress rehearsal for federal muscle-flexing in future elections. Threaten prison time for those who refuse to comply. Announce to America\u2019s adversaries that US elections are vulnerable, thereby inviting the very interference the administration decries. Then, theoretically, use that alleged foreign interference as a pretext to cancel elections, invoke the Insurrection Act, or send troops or ICE agents to the polls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could all play out,\u201d warns Robenalt, \u201cas several pundits have remarked, very much as Hemingway famously described bankruptcy: gradually, then suddenly. Some catalytic event \u2014 a Reichstag Fire<\/u> analogue, or another January 6<\/u>, or a bogus declassification purporting to show foreign hackers changing votes \u2014 could be used to manufacture a phony rationale for emergency action.\u201d<\/p>\n

As journalist Jonathan Alter pointed out, \u201cTrump never made any secret of his intentions, explaining to Republicans in January of 2026 on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection, \u2018You\u2019ve gotta win the midterms, because if we don\u2019t win the midterms, they\u2019ll find a reason to impeach me.\u2019\u201d According to Robenalt, \u201cThe president has shown, time and again, that he will go to unprecedented lengths so as not to relinquish power,\u201d and Americans must not take for granted that he will give up without a fight. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose who cherish democracy must stay alert,\u201d Robenalt concludes. \u201cVigilance remains the first defense. But the essential act is simpler still: vote. Vote early, if you can, because early voting makes election-day obstruction that much harder to pull off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Authors detail what didn\u2019t make it into Trump White House tell-all book<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In recent months, experts have pointed to various warning signs that President Donald Trump is engaged in a \u201cslow-moving coup\u201d as he attempts to maintain his grip on power. On Monday, with the highly consequential midterms less than 100 days away, a leading presidential historian took to Vanity Fair…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In recent months, experts have pointed to various warning signs that President Donald Trump is engaged in a \u201cslow-moving coup\u201d as he attempts to maintain his grip on power. On Monday, with the highly consequential midterms less than 100 days away, a leading presidential historian took to Vanity Fair...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"‘Antidemocratic plot afoot’: Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s ‘slow-moving coup’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001\"},\"wordCount\":770,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001\",\"name\":\"'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=4001#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"‘Antidemocratic plot afoot’: Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s ‘slow-moving coup’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America","og_description":"In recent months, experts have pointed to various warning signs that President Donald Trump is engaged in a \u201cslow-moving coup\u201d as he attempts to maintain his grip on power. On Monday, with the highly consequential midterms less than 100 days away, a leading presidential historian took to Vanity Fair...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"‘Antidemocratic plot afoot’: Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s ‘slow-moving coup’","datePublished":"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001"},"wordCount":770,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001","name":"'Antidemocratic plot afoot': Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s 'slow-moving coup' - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-27T19:09:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/41dbe5b6e8e40ac6e3f47ef1493a4910.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=4001#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘Antidemocratic plot afoot’: Presidential historian exposes Trump\u2019s ‘slow-moving coup’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}