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Taken together, the headlines don’t sound like America. President challenges election. President fires defense secretary. President installs military loyalists.

“Mitch McConnell and all the Republicans who are going along with it — they are actively, right now, supporting a coup,” Washington Congressman Adam Smith said.

Smith chairs the House Armed Services Committee.

“This amounts to — well, it’s not violent yet – but to an illegal attempt to overthrow a duly-elected government,” he said.

But he told me he’s been in touch with people at the Pentagon – and while there is some concern, he thinks we can make it to January 20.

“Now what people are nervous about at the Pentagon is, well what if he calls out the military to arrest Joe Biden? I can tell you – I am in close contact with senior leadership at the Pentagon. They have no intention whatsoever of doing that,” he assured me.

And he says there’s probably a benign explanation.

“Look – the most likely scenario here is we have a narcissistic child as president, and he’s lashing out because his toys were taken away from him,” Smith said. “Firing the Secretary of Defense is dangerous. But does it lead to Trump holding the presidency over Biden? No.”

So many stories for our grandchildren. Almost too many.

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