Summary
Elon Musk has accused the U.S. judiciary of an “attempted coup” after a federal judge upheld a restraining order preventing his government efficiency task force, DOGE, from accessing federal payment systems.
DOGE has faced lawsuits for attempting to bypass congressional oversight, purge civil servants, and shut down federal agencies.
Critics argue his claims ignore constitutional checks and balances.
Over 40 lawsuits challenge Trump’s orders, many paused pending judicial review.
I think this is underestimating them. They’re yelling “coup” so you ignore other people saying “coup” legitimately.
Mmm… yes and no.
This is a trait that Trump shares (and in fact, Trump is pretty much the ultimate example of it).
And yes - it’s absolutely a strategic advantage to them to toss around accusations to which they themselves are justifiably subject, since that at least diverts some focus from, and potentially completely undermines, the accusations against them.
But I think that’s more in the nature of a fringe benefit that they (and again, especially Trump) have come to recognize over the years and that first and foremost, it’s just plain old psychological projection, and rooted simply in their profound mental illness.
In Trump’s case, look at things like his obsession with crowd size and his immediate rage against anything he considers a threat to his image, or in Musk’s case, look at his cringey edgelord posturing and his lies about video game high scores. Both of them are desperately insecure and overcompensating egomaniacs, and I presume that in both cases, that’s the real root of their projection - that essentially they’re telling themselves, “I know you are but what am I?” Not as a strategy but simply as a defense mechanism for their grossly inflated and fragile egos.
But yes - chicken or egg, it is also an effective strategy to deflect or divert from legitimate accusations against them.