Does the body have brakes? The question comes after a post by him on the social media site Truth Social sparked a barrage of reactions from Democrats and prominent conservatives, reigniting speculation about a possible succession.
Extremities
The reason for the entire discussion was the post of the American president on Sunday (04/05), Easter day for the vast majority of American Christians and while the US-Israeli war against him enters its second month. In it, among other things, he addressed a clear warning about the destruction of Iranian infrastructure (power plants and bridges), while calling the “crazy bastards [σ.σ. τους Ιρανούς] to open the narrow gates”.
It is not the first time that the 79-year-old Trump has used aggressive language in his daily speech. It is recalled that in the corresponding Christmas message, he wished “a merry Christmas to everyone, including the scum of the radical left”. But the adoption of a purely market vocabulary caused many to speak of a panic move, extreme even for the same measures.
There are not a few who directly question Trump’s mental health. “While you go to church to celebrate with your friends and family, the president of the United States is raving like crazy on social media,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to X. Similar was the attitude of the once fanatical supporter of Trump and now his fierce critic, . “All the self-proclaimed Christians in his administration should get down on their knees, ask God for forgiveness, stop worshiping the president and stand up to Trump’s insanity,” said the former Republican congresswoman in X.
The 25th Amendment Argument
But there were also more dynamic interventions, which did not hesitate to invoke the 25th amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for the transfer of power if the president is deemed incapable of governing, due to death, resignation, temporary inability to perform duties or incapacity. Proponents of this constitutional provision focus on Trump’s mental stability, citing a series of contradictory and incendiary parallel statements by him, culminating in the controversial one.
“If I were in the Trump administration, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th amendment,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said via X, while Democratic Rep. Yasmin Ansari noted that “the 25th Amendment exists for a reason,” calling Trump a “national danger.”
In the “dance” of those asking for the implementation of this amendment, the former White House press representative in Trump’s first term, Anthony Scaramucci, was added, who noted that “more and more people should be calling for the removal of this man.” But so did former Republican congressman Joe Walsh, who emphatically stated: “… 25th amendment. Now”.
Representatives of the journalistic world acted in a similar style. “The president’s Easter message should really force the vice president and the cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment,” Mehdi Hassan, journalist and owner of the news website Zeteo. And veteran Huffington Post correspondent Siris Dutt chimes in, noting that “Trump is entering 25th Amendment territory.”
History
The argument for this particular amendment was formulated in the first year by Scott McConnell, co-founder of the iconic magazine The American Conservative, who as early as March 22 with his post in X emphasized: “My advice to Jay D. Vance is to support the transitional 25th amendment.” He even suggested that the position of Vice President be filled “by a Democrat who is anti-war, awake and not too woke”, pointing out the aforementioned Chris Murphy by name.
The intervention of McConnell, who represents the isolationist wing of the conservative faction, comes at a time when every attempt by Trump to bring Tehran to it is proving futile. The latest poll by the research company YouGov confirms that six out of ten American citizens are opposed to the US military involvement in Iran, while among Republican voters a quarter is negative to the continuation of the war.
As far as this amendment is concerned, the chances of its practical application are rather slim. During the 250 years of the USA’s existence, it has only been used substantially during the troubled presidency of Richard Nixon. Specifically, Article 1, which deals with Presidential succession, was activated once in 1974, when Vice President Gerald Ford became President after Nixon’s resignation due to the Watergate scandal. Article 2, regarding the filling of a vacant position of Vice President, has been used twice. In 1973, when Nixon appointed Gerald Ford, after the resignation of Spiro Agnew, and in 1974, when Ford (now President) appointed Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President.
Article 3, which provides for the procedure for the voluntary, temporary transfer of power, has been applied in cases of medical acts of Presidents (1985 Ronald Reagan, 2002 and 2007 George W. Bush, 2021 Joe Biden). In Trump’s case again, his critics refer implicitly but not explicitly to Article 4, which allows the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the President “unfit to perform his duties.” Given Trump’s continued popularity among Republicans, such an option is currently considered extremely risky by most of the party’s ranks.
