After former President Donald Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn appeared to express support for a coup in the United States, The New York Times' Maggie Haberman reports Trump himself has been baselessly asserting he will be back in the White House this year.
Haberman tweeted on Tuesday, in response to reporting about Flynn's comments about a coup in the United States, that Trump "has been telling a number of people he's in contact with that he expects he will get reinstated by August" — confirming in a subsequent tweet she means reinstated as president.
"No that isn't how it works," Haberman added, "but simply sharing the information."
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The reporting comes after Flynn at a QAnon conference over the weekend was asked why there can't be a coup in the United States like in Myanmar, and he said, "No reason, I mean, it should happen." He later claimed he was misquoted and said there is "NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort."
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, though, noted that for months, "talk of a Myanmar-style coup in the United States has been popular among some Trump supporters" who falsely claim he won the 2020 presidential election. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has also baselessly claimed that the Supreme Court will overturn the results of the election and that Trump "will be back in office in August."
Haberman notes that Trump pushing these baseless conspiracy theories about returning to office hasn't been "happening in a vacuum," but instead has been "happening as he faced the possibility of an indictment."
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