Conservative political commentator Sean Hannity claimed Tuesday that Obama administration holdovers and members of the media are contributing to a supposed “soft coup” being waged against President Trump.
“A soft coup is underway right here in the United States of America in an attempt to overturn November’s election results and forcibly remove a duly elected president from office — sinister forces quickly aligning in what is becoming now, in my mind, a clear and present danger,” Mr. Hannity said near the start of his Fox News program Tuesday evening.
“Here in America, we are at a turning point tonight with forces now forming an alliance to try and remove President Trump from office. It’s that serious,” he continued.
The “Hannity” host followed up the claim by listing several factors he believes are contributing to the supposed coup, among them Obama administration holdovers; “left-wing ideologues” employed by what Mr. Hannity called the “Destroy Trump Media”; and Robert Mueller III, the special counsel recently appointed by the Justice Department to investigate criminal allegations involving the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“This effort to override the will of the American people, change the results of a presidential election, is now creating a national security crisis,” he said.
The Fox News host and unabashed Trump supporter is hardly the first person to claim that a “soft coup” against the president is underway. Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Jay Sekulow, used that exact phrase four months earlier during a February appearance on “Hannity.” Fellow conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, meanwhile, claimed a “silent coup” against the president was underway during a March broadcast of his own radio program.
“There is the execution of an attempt at a peaceful coup,” Mr. Limbaugh said at the time. “A peaceful coup to oust Donald Trump is what we are witnessing. It’s been orchestrated by Obama and the Democrat Party. It’s that simple.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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