Trump and The 25th

I smell confusion, a confusion spread by the media and politicians who either need a Constitutional refresher or are deliberately pretending the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is easy to trigger.

Section 4 is what matters in the case of removing Donald J. Trump for alleged mental deficiencies. It reads exactly as follows:

"Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or 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 of Acting President. Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days 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. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose of not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office."

As you can clearly see, it is not the easy path some suggest. I submit to you that it will never happen to the sitting President, barring a significant physical affliction, which would be the case for any occupent of the office. There is no mental capacity diagnosis on record nor will there be. As an opinion writer I'm allowed to call Donald Trump batshit crazy and he is, as are many of his cabinet officials but batshit crazy is not a medical diagnosis. It is a description of an intellectually disinterested person that willingly dismisses established facts and creates their own narrative to suit their selfish purpose. They can usually tie their own shoes.

The term mental illness is being tossed around about Trump by a wide swath of people, as if they know, they don't. This includes all of those psychologists and psychiatrists who are offering analysis about someone they've never examined, which is a major no no. They're trying to be helpful but they're not. They are also maligning and further marginalizing those who battle various mental illnesses. Many of those illnesses in no way interfere with the ability to lead a fully productive life, including being President. Depression, if you don't know it, is categorized as a mental illness and a number of Presidents have certainly battled with that. Abraham Lincoln is said to have been a manic depressive. I don't believe Trump is depressed himself, he's merely a carrier.

Donald Trump is behaving exactly the same as he always has, at least for the four decades he's been in the public eye. His bad behavior and over the top batshit crazy antics and language was on full display during the campaign, he still won. He is the President of the United States, like it or not.

So you've now read section 4 of the 25th Amendment, apply some logic with a twist of political acumen. Mike Pence will never take the action required because he has always sucked up to Trump and he could easily get crushed himself by Trump when the attempt fails. A majority of the Cabinet will never sign on board, they worship Trump and don't have the guts to play Game of Thrones. Then there's the key role of Congress, who decides it, no way in hell would this Republican Congress vote yes. If Mike Pence personally saw Donald Trump running naked through the Whitehouse yelling "I'm Winston Churchill", he would blow it off as Trump being Trump.

As to the Mueller investigation, I have no idea where that ends up but unless an inescapable large steaming turd can be placed on Trump's plate, it's highly probable he'll be running again in 2020 and it would be unwise to underestimate him. Just ask the 17 Republicans he crushed in 2016 and Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Presidential candidate that he lost the popular vote to by three million votes.

Could it have been said better in The Washington Post? I think not.