Trump Is Unhinged, But The 25th Amendment Won't Save Us
Yes, Trump Is An Unhinged Madman, But The 25th Amendment Won’t Save Us
As many question what it will take for the 25th Amendment to be activated against Trump, I’m convinced the power behind his regime neither cares nor is worried about his unhinged rants. Trump has continued on a predictable trajectory over the last 10 years.
Like his first term, Trump’s actions are exactly the type of thing the U.S. would use to invade another country. And yes, waking up to news of Trump threatening to destroy an entire civilization is concerning and distressing.
But Trump’s instability is a feature of the new American extremist regime, not a bug. The ecosystem that crowned him their leader will not act to save us.
Across social media and in our group chats, people have been shocked and alarmed at the increasing cruelty and blatant disregard for human life.
Civil rights leaders and elected officials have called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked to remove Trump from power. As the NAACP shared in a recent statement, it’s not only “a matter of political disagreement; it is a matter of national security, global stability, and the very fabric of our democracy.”
“The rhetoric and behavior we are witnessing from Trump isn’t just alarming, it’s dangerous,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP in a statement. “When the person entrusted with the highest office in the land demonstrates a disregard for truth, stability, and the well-being of the American people, it’s a threat to the entire nation and the world. Trump must be immediately removed from office.”
But the 25th Amendment alone is insufficient to resolve the current instability or keep any of us safe.
So, what does the 25th Amendment do?
Ratified in 1967, four years after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 25th Amendment provides a process for the transition of power in case something happens to the president or vice president. Former President Richard Nixon’s resignation and the subsequent elevation of his Vice President Gerald Ford are probably the best example of its use.
Sections 1 and 2 of the 25th Amendment were used when Vice President Gerald Ford succeeded the disgraced Richard Nixon as president and appointed a new vice president to serve alongside him. Section 3 outlines the procedure for a president to voluntarily step aside and allow the vice president to step in as acting president.
It is the process in Section 4 that many are demanding be used. Specifically, it provides that the vice president and either the majority of the cabinet or another group selected by Congress may determine that the president is unfit to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Section 4 doesn’t remove the president or revoke his powers, but temporarily reassigns his workload and authority to the vice president as the acting president.
But that’s not all. If the president decides he wants to take control again and is capable and competent, he just has to let the relevant authorities in the Senate and the House know he wants his power back.
So even if Trump was put in a time-out, he could come right back and be like I’m fine now, give me my power back. Under the 25th Amendment, he would be entitled to resume his duties unless the vice president and either the majority of the cabinet or Congress respond saying it’s not happening.
And it would set up an entire back-and-forth that could very well still have someone who has already shown they don’t care about the rule of law still making decisions like he has authority.
Trump and friends are unlikely to employ the 25th Amendment or impeach
Trump and the other members of his criminal syndicate have no shame—they won’t step down like Nixon. And any leverage not to prosecute him, or other threats of accountability, will ring hollow given the failed attempts post-2021 and the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity.
I mean, they used to call this man the Teflon Don. But bullies always think they are untouchable until someone finally steps up and fights back.
Despite the clear procedure outlined and the fact that Trump’s behavior is far beyond simply wiretapping, the people who can stop this will do nothing to soothe our pleas. Because Trump has been the same over the last 10 years, and the chaos he creates and his ruthless business approach suit their goals just fine.
Trump has shown a level of depravity and inhumanity long before his threats against Iran, a country where a lot of people, just like us, want to live and not be under the threat of war.
Trump’s behavior wasn’t ok during the right’s test run at fascism lite during Trump’s first term. And it definitely wasn’t cool when he was starving Cuba and left critical patients, like NICU babies, without basic needs. To say Trump is a bully barely scratches the surface.
The freeze and inability to take concrete steps forward are exactly the point of all of this. It’s why, despite allegedly not liking Trump, or maybe even looking down on him, so many conservative interests and elected officials continue to double down.
Trump is their return to absolute power and domination. These people aren’t just trying to take us back to pre-1965 America. They are very intentionally aiming for that sweet spot where the federal government failed to protect non-white people and just shrugged it off as the cost of identifying with whiteness.
Rolling back civil rights protections, diversity and equity initiatives, and declaring white people as a long-lost protected class are not incidental to the chaos. Chaos and corruption are two sides of the same coin.
The Trump administration has literally become an extension of the same enterprise that led to his 34 felony counts in New York. But beyond the caricature of the so-called leader is an infrastructure of business, politics, and culture that has propped him up and made him seem larger than life.
Impeachment offers a more permanent solution for dealing with the mad king
Absent Trump willingly stepping aside like Nixon, any use of the 25th Amendment could just prolong a nightmare scenario for the country.
Simply put, this moment demands more than simply benching Trump. He needs to be out of the office with no hope of return.
Rep. Nikema Williams, representing Georgia’s “fighting” Fifth Congressional District, took it a step further, calling for Trump’s impeachment. As of Tuesday afternoon, dozens of Democratic lawmakers echoed her call.
While impeaching Trump would be only the first step— he would still have to be tried—it would offer a more permanent solution to removing him from official power. Williams also made it clear that J.D. Vance and the entire cabinet are complicit.
Many will note that impeachment has failed against Trump repeatedly because members of his party are complicit. Trump’s chaos and so-called madness are what allow them to destabilize and dismantle our rights and freedoms.
The regime and political ecosystem that allowed Trump to get to this point also stood by and watched as Palestinian children and families were brutalized. They just shrug as ICE lingers in our airports after brutalizing communities across multiple states.
But as demoralizing and frustrating as this moment feels, we as Black people know that our predecessors have dealt with injustice and brutality at scale and over generations. We did so with clarity of mind and organization in our community.
The processes that should protect the current status quo are failing because they were built on weak foundations. We need to lock in and get organized. Stay in tune with what is happening in our states and local communities, because it is going to take a powerful sea change of people, committed and engaged, to get us through what is coming.
Because, unfortunately, this current episode with Trump is just the beginning of a new wave of really fugly mess to come. We, the people, cannot wait to see if the political ecosystem loyal to the Trump machine will act.
It’s up to us. And it’s ok if you’re not the save-the-world type or you aren’t political.
Ida B. Wells and Ella Baker weren’t until they had to be. Your grandparents might not have been political, but they understood community.
Even that old couple around the way who always looked out for us because they were proud seeing a young kid do good.
And when we get really still and think about it, we do too. The question now is: do you have the courage and willpower to lock in and do the work it will take to come out safe on the other side?
SEE ALSO:
Trump Threatens Iran With Genocide In Latest Off-Script Rant
Trump’s Election Order Is Open Rebellion Against The Country
