According to Roger Stone, there are people on President Trump’s Cabinet who have talked seriously about one of the most disturbing left-wing fantasies of the last twelve months: Using the 25th Amendment to usurp the president’s power and throw him out of office.
The 25th Amendment, passed in the wake of JFK’s assassination, allows for another way to quickly take the president out of authority in the instance that he is incapacitated or otherwise unable to perform his duties. A much shorter process (and, theoretically, less politically motivated) than impeachment, this amendment was passed simply to give government authorities the opportunity to pass the baton to the Vice President should the President go down to an attack, illness, or some other form of tragedy. It is meant to encompass that uncomfortable period between incapacitation and death, where the president remains the one in charge…but cannot actually BE in charge.
Up till now, the 25th Amendment has only been seen in the realm of fiction. Movie fans may remember that it became a tense plot point in Air Force One, when Harrison Ford was presumed dead after being ejected from the titular plane by Russian gangsters. Even in that movie, however, cooler heads prevailed and Ford retained his power (before, of course, being shown to still be alive and well). As far as we can tell, Trump has not been taken hostage by terrorists – though the left will do anything they can to convince us that he’s under Russian control.
Be that as it may, Stone says that at least a few members of Trump’s Cabinet have talked about using the constitutional clause against the boss. In a CSPAN interview, the former presidential adviser said that Americans should be on guard; Trump’s trusted allies are gunning for him.
“I believe there are some who have had this discussion,” Stone said. “This is both outside the Cabinet and in. I think it’s the fallback plan for the establishment. That’s why I’m trying to sound the clarion call. […] This is not a conspiracy theory. There are members of the Cabinet who have had this discussion. Let me just leave it at that.”
Stone said that the canary in the coal mine would come by way of the mainstream media.
“You’re going to see an enormous uptick in these irresponsible stories smearing this president as, you know, non compos mentis — not up to the job, and so on — particularly if Mr. Mueller should shoot and miss. So I’m being realistic about what I believe is the resolve of many in the political establishment to remove the president under any means necessary,” Stone said.
Democrats and NeverTrumpers are beginning to realize that this Russia investigation is going nowhere fast. At the same time, they’re starting to understand that the longer Trump stays in power and the more fully his agenda is implemented, the stronger his popularity will grow. If they’re going to take him out, they’ll have to do it before those favorability numbers start climbing and he becomes untouchable. Are they willing to make such a dramatic, unprecedented move against the very foundation of democracy?
We’ll find out soon enough.
