The idea of this false coup is funny, but it doesn’t really make sense. By far, most of the national debt is not held by foreigners. About 25% held is by foreigners. The remaining 75% is held by, well, us. It is owed to ourselves.

Most of the national debt, 52%, is held by other parts of the U.S. government itself, mainly Social Security and Medicare.

Other big holders include state and local governments, individual investors,  public and private pension funds, mutual funds, holders of US savings bonds, insurance companies, and banks and credit unions.

So yeah, staging a phony coup so we can stiff the debt holders might be a funny idea, but it doesn’t sound as funny or make much sense to stage one just to stiff ourselves. The premise of the joke is wrong. The national debt is not primarily held by foreigners.

Kinda kills the joke, doesn’t it?