A month ago, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) called the White House an “adult daycare center.”
Before that, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called President Donald Trump a “f***ing moron.”
He, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin are reportedly so concerned about Trump’s mindset, they’ve formed a “suicide pact” in which they agree if one is fired, they all resign.
Chief of Staff John Kelly packs Trump’s schedule so the president doesn’t have any free time to take in “unfiltered and sometimes inaccurate information that can rile him up.”
CIA Director Mike Pompeo converts a significant amount of text in intelligence briefings to “killer graphics” because they seem to be “the way that [Trump] can best understand the information we’re trying to communicate,” leaving aides responsible for composing remaining text comprised of tweet-length summaries of major foreign policy issues in which Trump’s name is inserted to interest him in reading.
A source close to Trump told the Washington Post:
“I call the president the two-minute man. The president has patience for a half-page.”
A foreign diplomat told the Washington Post world leaders have given up hope Trump will remedy his sincere ignorance of policy and issues:
“The idea that he would inform himself, and things would change, that is no longer operative.”
At a private dinner in July, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster referring to POTUS 45 as an “idiot,” a “dope,” and a man with the intelligence of a “kindergartener.”
Remember this?
It was taken the day our president revealed classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak when they met with Trump in the Oval Office in May.
On State of the Union with Jake Tapper on CNN, Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), admitted even Republicans have expressed concern about President Trump’s mental health.
In February, California Representative Ted Lieu reported he is considering proposing legislation that would require a psychiatrist be on staff at the White House. A number of mental health experts concur with Lieu, as do other lawmakers.
Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah, told The Washington Post in January he was considering introducing legislation requiring presidents to undergo independent medical examinations, including psychiatric ones.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she would support legislation requiring Trump to take a mental health exam.
Journalist Andrew Sullivan has called on other journalists to start talking publicly about President Trump’s mental instability.
This is probably unsurprising to anyone who has been following Trump’s behavior.
Impeachment is likely, as special council Robert Mueller zeroes in on Trump’s inner circle.
It’s only a matter of time.
But there’s been talk about the possibility of also invoking the 25th amendment.
After President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we established a mechanism to replace the president or vice president in the event of death, removal, resignation, or physical and/or mental incapacity.
It’s unlikely Trump is ever going to submit “written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” as is outlined in section three.
The Republican-majority Congress isn’t likely to support it either when it has a president of the same party willing to sign any piece of legislation it slides in front of him.
But under section four:
“Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
This means Trump’s cabinet can invoke it.
True, we would be left with Vice President Mike Pence, which would not be much of an improvement.
But at the least the wheels would be turning as Robert Mueller’s investigation runs full tilt boogie, possibly taking out Pence as well.
So, is it time to invoke the 25th amendment and remove Trump?
Image credit: gtpronews.com
