Donald Trump is facing another nail in the coffin of his Presidency as members of his party turn against him for his erratic posts.
Last night, the leader went on a posting spree on Truth Social, sharing images of Obama depicted as a religious figure and observing: ‘The media had an affinity for portraying Barack Obama as an angelic figure. Zero outrage from Democrats or the left.’
Trump even had time to slam NATO and the Pope, writing: ‘NATO wasn’t there for us, and they won’t be there for us in the future!’
He added: ‘Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.’
More than 50 members of Congress are backing a plan to remove Trump from office because of his erratic behavior.
House Democrats have introduced a bill which would remove the US leader from office under the 25th Amendment and are calling for him to take a cognitive test and release the results.
Congressman Jamie Raskin said: ‘Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilisations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ.
‘The US is at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfil its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation,’ he added.
Could Trump actually be removed from office?
Dr Dafydd Townley, Senior Teaching Fellow in International Security at the University of Portsmouth, told Metro it’s vital to distinguish between Trump’s political decline as it stems from incompetence versus his actions that might suggest he’s in a mental decline.
‘As far as Iran is concerned—and again, this is my analysis, not anybody else’s—I think the Trump administration looked at what it did in Venezuela and assumed it would be relatively simple to replicate something similar in Iran,’ he said.
‘I think that comes from the assumption that “we’ve done it here, we can do it there,” despite these being very different military operations. This is not necessarily the result of mental incapacity—it’s simply a strategic error, a strategic failure. That, in turn, has contributed to a decline in his political support within his party, his base, and Congress.’
Even as worries mount around Trump’s mental state, it would be incredibly difficult to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump, Dr Townley said.
‘It would require support from JD Vance, as well as several cabinet secretaries. Under the Constitution, Vance is the successor to Donald Trump, so he would have to be part of that process. That makes it extremely unlikely, given the level of loyalty within the current administration,’ he said.
Is Trump’s base turning against him?
Even as Trump deleted the AI-generated image of himself as Jesus, healing a man in a hospital bed, the damage is done.
MAGA fans have accused the President of blasphemy, with Trump attempting damage control by claiming he posted it thinking it was him ‘as a doctor’.
As for Trump’s base of support, his recent actions won’t affect things very much, Dr Townley argues.
‘Trump is only concerned with public opinion when he needs it. His speeches aren’t about listening to the American public—they’re about telling them what he’s done,’ he explained.
The group of 50 Democrats fighting to introduce a bill to invoke the 25th Amendment won’t likely be able to achieve anything until after the midterm elections in November.
‘At the moment, this movement is largely symbolic tokenism,’ Dr Townley said.
‘Democrats in Congress are hamstrung by being in the minority in both chambers. So this effort is more about signalling opposition than achieving actual removal. I don’t see it leading anywhere in practical terms.’
Dr Simon Bennett of the University of Leicester told Metro that although Trump’s behavior is erratic, there are two likely explanations.
‘First, possibly because of his age, he is losing the capacity to focus, assemble and consider facts and act in a measured way,’ he said.
‘Secondly, it is a deliberate ploy designed to keep competitors off-balance. As to whether the 25th will be invoked, in my opinion, this is highly unlikely… Trump would have to consistently display psychotic behavior for the 25th to be invoked.
‘At the moment, the worst one can say is that Trump’s behavior is messianic, tasteless and borderline blasphemous.’
What is the 25th Amendment?
The 25th Amendment to the Constitution is designed to clarify the presidential order of succession. The fourth section of the amendment allows the vice president and the cabinet to declare their leader is ‘unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office’.
If JD Vance and Trump’s top officials did this, Trump would immediately be stripped of the powers of his office.
The amendment would let Trump send a letter saying he is, in fact, fit to lead, putting him back in the White House.
Vance would then have four days to, again, send a declaration to congressional leaders saying otherwise.
A congressional vote would then be held within 21 days, and Trump would be permanently removed if two-thirds of the House and the Senate agree that he is unable to continue as president.
If the vote fell short, Trump would resume his duties.
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