Historian Heather Cox Richardson: 'We're already in a coup'

​Each week, Boston College professor Heather Cox Richardson infuses history with relevance as she explains American politics through the lens of the Constitution, the law, the economy and social customs. The historian’s essays Letters from an American on Substack has more than 2,000,000 subscribers. She spoke with KPBS’s Public Matters Reporter Amita Sharma.

[RJNL]

The U.S. ended when a traitor was allowed to run for office instead of go to prison.

[power-corrupts]

"A hero is somebody continuing to do the right thing even if nobody is paying attention and even if it feels like the walls are closing in."
- Heather Cox Richardson

[traditionalwingchunkungfu]

Mitch McConnell needs to make amends for not banning Trump from ever holding office again when he was impeached for his second time for ‘incitement of Insurrection’. He could bring Republican senators together and impeach Trump! Remove him from office And ban him from public office!

[AndreaSwiedler]

HCR, I appreciate all you do. Thank you for being a strong, constant, truthful voice in this sea of misinformation and shock style media. ❤

[Ireland]

Thank you PBS and Heather Cox Richardson!

[angies.]

Such an important voice to help wake up the people who may not yet get that the country is in an urgent crisis now! All hands on deck. There will not be a long window of time to stop this.

[ZeusVela]

Thank you Heather Cox for finally calling this out for what it is!!

[LouieMdeP]

THANK YOU for doing the right thing and encouraging defiance of this coup! EVERYONE needs to stand up and stand out!

[dianadickerson]

She's a treasure, love her talks and writings. Follow her, it's worth it.

[ProgressiveTruthSeekers]

"People sometimes forget that Donald Trump grew up surrounded by poverty. The maid was poor. The gardener was poor. The chauffer, cook, masseuse, all poor..."

~Brinner Dang

[professormph]

It is SO hard to get up and do it all over again every day. I teach undergraduates about public health, which is under assault from nearly every angle right now. It is devastating but then I remember that just showing up and continuing to teach is doing SOMETHING and all I can hope is that those young minds are listening, really hearing and that they care (and will do what they feel is best to keep spreading knowledge).

[akamai]

Heather Cox Richardson is a hero, and a national treasure. And she doesn't claim to be either. She has brilliant insights on our current situation, and history of our country that led us to where we are today. I listen to her Letters from an American every day. Thank you Heather for being a true American, and for setting an example for all of us. Just doing the right thing every day.

[GaryMarks-ve]

Facts are facts, thank you Heather for your clarity.

[OnlyWaterInTheForest]

Thank you for puting out information based in observable verifyable facts. You are appreciated.

[manmadesounds]

Great job, Heather and Amita! Thank you!

[rubberbiscuit]

We better get busy because right now is our window of opportunity. It gets harder the longer they continue in power.

[gladyslennington]

Love Heather Cox Richardson! Her cam demeanor and truthful answers have talked me off a few ledges since 2016.

[janwoodworth]

Kudos to all the people protesting in the streets! Solidarity!❤

[gophersmith]

I think we've been in a Constitutional crisis since Jan 23, 2016 - when Trump bragged he could get away with murder.

[robertmcdaid]

As a proud Canadian...God Bless the American people and people of the World! My hope is that we endure this administration and come away with Democracy intact. History has taught us a lesson in what happens when countries allow a convicted felon to rise to take over a nation. We ended up in history repeat itself, we're all