Overview
- Jonathan Alter published a war‑gamed, hypothetical scenario in Washington Monthly that portrays a speculative 'slow‑motion rolling coup' in which President Trump seeks to disrupt the 2026 midterms rather than a report of an actual seizure of power.
- Alter cites Trump comments reported to The New York Times and Reuters in early 2026—including regrets about not seizing voting machines and the remark 'we shouldn't even have an election'—as signals that inform his scenario.
- The scenario highlights two little‑publicized contingency tools, NPSM‑7 and Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs), as possible means to expand presidential authority for domestic action while noting that public evidence about their scope is limited.
- Alter names Stephen Miller as a central planner and describes a sequence of actions in which legal challenges, unfounded fraud claims, and mass protests create openings that could be exploited before courts and former officials step in to restore order in the narrative.
- Coverage frames the piece as a cautionary, hypothetical analysis grounded in the history of the 2020 post‑election fight and the Jan. 6 anniversary, and it urges close attention to state election officials, the courts, and public mobilization as the key defenses against such a threat.