 The facts that the coup attempt began in the evening rather than at a more inconspicuous time and that the events were largely confined to Ankara and Istanbul contributed to doubts about the authenticity of the coup attempt.Journalists and opposition politicians branded it a 'tragic comedy' and 'theatre play'.Advocates of such theories pointed to how Erdoğan stood to gain from the coup attempt in terms of increasing his popularity and support for his calls for an executive presidency, while being able to legitimise further crackdowns on judicial independence and the opposition in general.