Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested over the weekend that there may be a coup happening in America.
Watters claimed Saturday night that there’s evidence special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign has biased agents.
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Later, while Watters interviewed Trump’s senior adviser Kellyanne Conway, a banner reading “A coup in America?” appeared on screen.
During the interview, Conway indicated the investigation has been biased all along.
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“The fix was in against Donald Trump from the beginning, and they were pro-Hillary,” she said.
The two were speaking of FBI agent Peter Strzok, who was removed from Mueller’s team for calling Trump an “idiot” in an October 2016 text message.
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The coup comments spurred instant backlash online, with many accusing Fox News of being “irresponsible” by using the word “coup” without reason.
According to Oxford Dictionary, coup means: “A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power by government.” BBC News explains a coup can involve things like taking over buildings, holding people hostage, and hacking state media.
Mueller’s probe, a state-funded look into whether there was collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in the 2016 U.S. election, doesn’t fall into that definition. Several recent incidents do, though.
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In 2013, for example, Egypt’s Mohamed Morsi was ousted as president and replaced by Gen. Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. Demonstrations and protests surrounding the forced swap of power led to many people killed.
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A similar coup was attempted in Turkey in July 2016. The failed takeover still left 241 dead and another 2,194 injured.
Most recently, a de facto coup led to a change in power in Zimbabwe. The country’s army pressured former president Robert Mugabe to step down so Emmerson Mnangagwa could replace him.
— With files from Reuters, The Associated Press
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