For that small percentage of you who do not devour the comments to my posts, in response to my most recent entry, Robert Lehrer posted a long one. So far as relevant to what I want to say today, it responds to what the commenter calls my “ritualistic closing plea” to bring the 25th Amendment down on Trump’s noggin. He then goes on to assert that,
…there is no chance whatsoever, given its triggering mechanism, that the 25th amendment will ever successfully be invoked against Trump. So why one should waste time and energy to remind one's representatives(I understand that you are asking for very little, though a phone call or an email to my congressman, who is a hard line Trumper, would definitely be a waste of the little time either would take) is unclear. [Then], were the 25th amendment to be successfully invoked and sustained, so as to remove Trump from office, that would not change the policy trajectory, as Vance would move quickly to show that he were a worthy successor to The Leader. [Further], the transfer of power would give Vance a huge leg up for the 2028 campaign, as he would run as the sitting president.
(Before I respond, in the spirit of full disclosure I should note that Bob Lehrer and I were law school classmates. That was back in the days of stand-up desks, long black gowns and quill pens. But not horsehair wigs; American lawyers never wore wigs.)
OK, now back to my response. Will the 25th Amendment be used to remove Trump from the presidency? No, not unless he walks into the press room naked, munching on a cheeseburger and smeared all over with ketchup. Very likely, not even then. Indeed, if he were to keel over from a stroke in the press room yet still be breathing, there would still be a fair degree of likelihood that Vance and the cabinet would ignore it and continue to pretend that he’s in charge.* That is a measure of how far downhill our constitutional democracy has slid.
Does that mean that we should just ignore how bad Trump’s alleged thought processes are? No! It means that we should re-double our efforts to alert as many Americans as we can to what he has become. Remember, 90 million Americans did not vote last year. We owe it to them and their loved ones, and to us and our loved ones, to do all we can to enlighten them. With a little education, “Invoke the 25th” can be a useful tool in doing that.
I’m sure you’ve heard the observation that if Trump were your grandpa, you’d take away his car keys. Well, he is actually the grandpa whose keys can launch nuclear weapons. Let’s never forget that.
Will it be worth the couple of minutes (literally) that it will take to call your representative or senator and tell them to call for invoking the 25th? Even if yours are deep-red, yes. At the least, it will remind them that we are out here, watching. It will cause at least a tiny tremor of doubt, and such feelings can grow. Maybe it will help the staffer who takes your call to decide that there is a better path to professional success than working for the senator or congressman.
The larger purpose is to make Trump’s mental state into a live issue. Strangely, it is not. In describing the marathon orgy of false praise and self-abasement that passed for a cabinet meeting yesterday, The New York Times described the president as having “an ego that appeared to need frequent feeding, and blustery stamina.” That actually represents a great advance for NYT, which until a few weeks ago was a major player in the cottage-industry of normalization. But still, it stopped well short of the truth: Trump is a morbidly obese old man suffering from age-related dementia and multiple personality disorders, who likely also has chronic heart failure (remember the swollen ankles). The American people ought to be discussing the president’s mental state. It should be top-of-mind for all of us, every day. (Well, right now ranking just behind speculation about the Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce nuptials.)
It would be a huge victory for the forces of democracy and decency if Democratic senators and congressmen would actually challenge Republicans to use the 25th Amendment. It should be like the Epstein files: an issue that the other side can’t counter, and that won’t go away—unless we allow it to.
To be effective, the drive would have to be forceful, clear and sustained, all the way to 2028, if necessary. Democrats need to point out every mental misstep, every sign of deterioration. They would have to be prepared to accept the cost of being ridiculed, derided and accused of sacrificing the good of the nation for political advantage, until their message hits home. But in their effort they would have one powerful ally: Truth.
It is sometimes said that the lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its shoes on. Maybe so, but the truth catches up and wins in the end, because it is, you know, true. The truth is that Donald Trump ceased to meet the minimum standard of psychological fitness to be president a long time ago, if he ever possessed it.
As for what would happen if the 25th were actually brought to bear, or if Trump just keels over and dies where they can’t hide the body? Yes, JD Vance (I have to work not to refer to him as JV Dunce) would become president. That would be horrible. But for all of his dishonesty, complete lack of integrity and Trump-like selfishness, Vance does seem to be technically sane. He is much less likely than Trump to lob nuclear missiles at Iran, or New Jersey. And he is much less popular and lacks Trump’s (I-hate-to-call-it) charisma. The MAGA faithful will never cleave to Vance as they have to the Dear Leader. Also, all the others in Trump’s wake who are dreaming of succeeding him will be gunning for Vance. Indeed, they already are.
So, yes, let’s be calling to invoke the 25th Amendment, loudly and often.
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*Please don’t remind us of Woodrow Wilson.
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Jon, you make the case brilliantly. Sharing with others. Not a widespread perspective thus far, I’d say, but you make the case exquisitely. You’re right up there with Lucien Truscott IV and the like… It comes about that when you see a certain name, you take the time to read. Yours is one of those. Thank you for this.
Long ago, I heard a sermon on a radio station I won’t name because I certainly wouldn’t listen to it now anyway, one pastor spoke of perhaps even a book that contained a collection of stories where something changed the course of history based on the actions, the choice, the decision of just one person. Never underestimate. It’s like the value of a penny. I despise people, and you may not agree with this, who belittle the penny. I think I’ve heard that it costs more to produce them than the value they carry once they’re in circulation. But anyway… Look how Bob Marley had a cancer in one toe and ignored it… In the end it took his life. One bite from some certain being can take your life. Taking your eyes off the road for a moment or a blown tire… BOOM!… Life altering if not life ending.
Many things, even like miracles, I don’t think can be measured, have value attached, because what seems tiny can turn out to be monumental. What seems hugely consequential can later prove itself forgettable, of no effect at all…
Anyway. Thank you. Explaining yourself. I do that too much of the time. I guess it resonates. Thank you, Jon.
Well done Jon. I'm a little on both sides here as I'd very much like to see Felon47 out of the White House but see little chance of the 25th Amendment being the tool. It might be a valuable piece of electioneering, but I'm not sure how seriously people take anyone's assertions about Presidential inadequacy any more.
In respect of Mr. Lehrer's comment "the transfer of power would give Vance a huge leg up for the 2028 campaign, as he would run as the sitting president.", while it is true, if the transition is done before the halfway point of this term, Juvenile Delinquent would be limited to one potential term after his succession.
The whole situation has deteriorated past the point of ludicrousness, and I suspect that Tom Cleaver's hamberder solution is our most likely ally.