Traverse City Democratic state Rep. Betsy Coffia is convinced “we are in the middle of a coup” in America, orchestrated by President Donald Trump.
The only elected Democrat north of Saginaw took to X on Monday to slam U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, over news reports he’s postponing a book tour following unrest about his leadership.
“NEWS: Schumer is postponing his book tour, amid major backlash from Democrats to his decision last week to pass the CR” (continuing resolution), Annie Karni, congressional correspondent for The New York Times, posted to X.
Shumer enraged Democrats last week in announcing his decision to break with the Democratic Party and vote to advance the Republican CR to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.
“As bad as passing the (resolution) is,” Schumer said Thursday, “allowing Donald Trump to take even more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”
Coffia clearly disagreed in a post that ignored the will of more than 77 million Americans who cast their ballots in support of the 47th POTUS in November, including nearly 30,000 of her own constituents.
“He should be doing town halls instead of promoting his book anyway,” Coffia posted to X in response to Karni. “Because … We Are In The Middle Of A Coup. Wake tf up @SenSchumer.”
He should be doing town halls instead of promoting his book anyway.
Because….We
Are
In
The
Middle
Of
A
Coup.Wake tf up @SenSchumer https://t.co/08Gjir1sCq
— Betsy Coffia (@BetsyCoffia) March 17, 2025
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The Cambridge Dictionary defines a coup as “a sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power, especially by part of an army.”
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Coffia’s Monday post is among the latest in her daily tirades against Trump and Schumer on social media since voters relegated Democrats to a minority in the House in November.
The posts include incorrect claims about federal funding freezes, repeated allegations of a coup, and calls to “grow the opposition force” and ignore Trump’s executive orders.
“Go to hell Donald Trump,” Coffia posted in January, lamenting the president’s move to “freeze OUR money for abused children, Homeless veterans, Poor hungry seniors, Pregnant women & infants, preschoolers from poor families, domestic violence survivors.”
“To line the pockets of your billionaire pals?” she wrote. “Go to hell Donald Trump. Americans don’t like bullies. We stand up to bullies & we win. This is our country, our home. & we won’t let you destroy our home.”
A White House statement, however, specifically states “any program that provides district benefits to individuals is not subject to the pause” of federal assistance programs impacted by Trump executive orders.
The pause “is expressly limited to programs, projects, and activities implicated by the President’s Executive Orders, such as ending DEI, the green new deal, and funding nongovernmental organizations that undermine the national interest,” the statement read. “Funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs will not be paused.”
Coffia was first elected to replace Republican Rep. Jack O’Malley in the 2022 midterms with the help of illegal immigrants coordinated by the Rural Democracy Initiative and We The People.
“We the People built a powerful campaign where undocumented leaders who can’t vote organized their families and friends who could to cast their ballot for Coffia—who had been organizing in the community for 10 years and standing up for working people time and again,” according to a “grantee spotlight” on the RDI website. “Coffia won by just over 700 votes; migrant workers were critical to winning the seat that flipped the State House.”
RDI made it clear the help for Coffia’s campaign did not come without expectations.
“Undocumented people in Michigan have been fighting to win back driver’s licenses for years and knew this race was critical for determining control of policymaking,” the spotlight read.
Despite repeated rallies at the Capitol and efforts by Coffia and others to push for the licenses, Democrats failed to pass the measure with party’s first government trifecta in 40 years. Voters shifted control of the lower chamber back to Republicans in November, when Coffia won re-election with 29,243 voters casting ballots for Republican challenger Lisa Trombley.
With little leverage in the minority, Coffia is now fixated on national politics, with daily attacks on both Trump and those in her own party she doesn’t believe are sufficiently obstructing his agenda.
“@SenSchumer look at it this way. You have a book tour starting Monday,” Coffia posted to X on Saturday. “Step aside as leader and you’ll have more time to promote your book while the rest of us fight the authoritarian coup currently engulfing the country. Win win.”
The Senate vote to approve the continuing resolution to fund the federal government and avert a shutdown is now splitting Democrats in Washington and beyond, with Coffia clearly in what she describes as “stand up and fight wing” of the party.
“Notice the leaders who did stand strong” on the CR, Coffia posted to Facebook last week. “Tell them you see them and want them to keep fighting and to FORM A COALITION or leadership for a true opposition party. That is what this moment calls for.”
Schumer, meanwhile, is defending his decision to vote with Republicans to approve the continuing resolution, arguing Democrats should focus on convincing constituents the GOP aims to “screw every average America so they can get tax cuts for the rich,” he told CBS News.
Schumer contends that strategy is “beginning to work.”
“If we keep at it everyday, relentless fighting and showing how they’re hurting people so badly, Trump’s numbers will get much lower, and his both popularity, but also his effectiveness will decline,” Schumer told the news site. “I believe that strategy will work.”