You decide to just let this play out. The Army ends up fighting prolonged street battles with MAGA supporters and the National Guard. The violence gravely deteriorates the country’s international standing.
You realize the lack of an active pro-democracy movement has created long-term problems. The military generals are permanently seen as political forces, capable of deciding future elections. Anyone seeking the office of president now has to have secret meetings with military elites to seek their approval. This undermines the government. You wish people had gone into the street — in any way — so it didn’t seem like the military was acting unilaterally.
Eventually, the President, President-elect, and the military regain control. Thousands are arrested, including many National Guard members and police. The situation remains extremely tense, with reports of targeted violence. On January 20th, President Harris is inaugurated. Donald Trump’s court cases catch up with him and he is imprisoned. A successful coup has been averted, but a true democracy remains further away.
THE END.
You survived the transfer of power, but by leaning on the military instead of on people power. Researcher Stephen Zunes has identified four things we need to stop a coup: widespread opposition, nonviolent discipline (to avoid giving the wanna-be autocrat excuses for more violence), alliance building, and refusal to recognize the coup plotters as legitimate. In a coup situation, we need to be in the streets — and fast.
Read Closing Thoughts from the author.