Ok, to be clear, the 25th Amendment states several things. For starters, it allows for the vice president to become president, should the president die or resign.
It allows for the vice-president-turned-president to choose his VP, and what is catching fire with some is that it calls the VP to step up to the big league, should the president become incapacitated, or unable to perform his duties.
Peeling through the calls for impeachment, his resignation, and just about everything imaginable to get Trump out of the White House, there are those who are quietly stating that now might be the time to examine the detailing of the 25th Amendment.
Robert Reich, the former Clinton-era Labor Secretary broached the subject of applying the 25th Amendment to Trump on his Facebook Page.
The full text reads:
I fear the man is losing his mind. Today Trump attacked Democrats (whom he called “OBSTRUCTIONISTS!”), the mayor of London (whom he derided as “pathetic”), and the judicial system (which he termed “slow and political!”).
He even attacked his own Department of Justice – for, in his words, submitting a “watered down, politically correct” version of his executive order to the Supreme Court. He thereby undermined his own lawyers, who have been trying the make the legal case that Trump’s ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries is not a “travel ban.” Today Trump tweeted: “I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!”
How did Trump react to all the chaos he created today? By canceling without warning or notice a scheduled briefing with reporters where he was expected to answer questions.
We know he’s a sociopath, but he seems to be growing worse. CNN’s Gloria Borger last week quoted a Trump confidant: “He now lives within himself, which is a dangerous place for Donald Trump to be. I see him emotionally withdrawing. He’s gained weight. He doesn’t have anybody whom he trusts.”
Rick Tyler, a veteran Republican consultant, said Trump’s refusal to stop using Twitter poses a serious obstacle for the White House.“I can’t imagine internally they’re happy with his performance,” Tyler said. “The president is undermining his presidency whenever his staff says one thing and then he does another. They’ll say something you’d expect, and then he’ll go off and bring in the gun debate to a terror attack.”
Is it because the FBI investigation is homing in on him? Or because his most trusted adviser, Jared Kushner, is about the be indicted? Or because his approval ratings continue to drop?
Whatever the cause, as Trump becomes more isolated, he becomes more paranoid – more fearful of becoming weak and humiliated. We know from Trump’s history that whenever he’s cornered he also becomes more aggressive. The further he falls, the more fragile his ego becomes, and the greater is the danger that he will do something desperate. As the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank says, there is much that a desperate commander in chief can do.
This is why it is now time to seriously consider the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for removal of a president who is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.” The determination is to be made by the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments – that is, the Cabinet — or of such other body as Congress may by law provide.
It is coming to that.
What do you think?
I already know what Trump loyalists think: FAKE NEWS!
Let me stop you here. It’s not “fake news.”
It IS one Clintonian’s opinion, however.
I don’t know if I think Trump is losing it, at least in the way Reich is suggesting. I think he’s being beaten over the head with reality – not reality TV styled reality, but actual reality, and it’s causing him quite a bit of stress.
He’s used to having things his way and with being the boss.
As president, he’s one of three separate, but equal branches of government. It’s not the Trump show, anymore.
So will the 25th Amendment be dusted off and put into play, here, or is it a whole lot of white noise, right now?
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