GOP Refusal to Invoke 25th Amendment Is Responsible for Jan 6 Failed Coup

Just weeks after Donald Trump’s minimal inauguration on January 20, 2017, a letter was sent to leaders of the Republican Party signed by a group of highly respected psychiatrists, suggesting that Trump be required to have a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. He was displaying symptoms of paranoia and malignant narcissism.

If the leaders of the Republican Party, Vice President Mike Pence, and members of his cabinet had respected the warning, and taken steps to evaluate Trump’s performance, or lack of, based on the guidelines of the 25th Amendment, none of the attacks on our democracy, culminating in the January 6 attempted coup, would have occurred.

Congress passed the 25th Amendment on July 6, 1965. Then served by our 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, and aware that several of our past leaders suffered from physical and mental impairments, congress found it necessary to set the standards for the removal of a president who was incapable of performing his or her duties, and the process of succession. However, it has never been used as required by the Law of the Land.

Although it was common knowledge that in the latter part of Ronald Reagan’s second term, he suffered from escalating dementia, requiring more time in the private quarters of the White House than the Oval Office, his disability was ignored by members of both parties. He was allowed to remain in office until January 20, 1989.

Courtesy of Brett Davis (Flickr CC0)

It was an undeniable fact and remains a fact today that Trump is mentally challenged and unfit to lead our nation. Cowardice, avarice, greed, and ambition prevented members from either party from demanding his removal, and they are responsible for the Constitutional crises which occurred between 2017 and today.

The media announced that Joseph R. Biden was confirmed as America’s 46th president on November 7, 2020, four days after the election. Members of Trump’s administration and his own family urged him to accept the results and continue the tradition of a peaceful transition of power.

However, Rudy Giuliani and others played upon his ego and escalating mental illness in the form of malignant narcissism and convinced him to contest what was labeled the “most secure and fair election in history.”

After dozens of court cases, including “his own” Supreme Court of the United States, refused to accept baseless allegations of voter fraud, the obese, white, old man continues the “big lie.”

The definition of insanity:

Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results. – Sigmund Freud

If the government in Washington had the courage to do the right thing, there would not have been two impeachments. The violation of the First Amendment rights of protestors outside the White House on June 1, 2020, would never have happened. America would have been saved by a competent man in the White House when the COVID-19 pandemic came to America. The death count would never have come near to what it is today, with more than 1,000,000 lives lost. And the darkest day in American history would never have become a reality if Trump had been removed from office by following the rules established by the 25th Amendment. None of us would be watching the hearings conducted by the House select committee investigating the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Courage is non-existent in Washington today. America has the weakest and least effective government in the world.

Op-Ed by James Turnage

Sources:

The Hill: Jan. 6 committee hearing: Scalia called on Trump to concede; by Brett Samuels
The Hill: The 25th Amendment was supposed to fix the issue of presidential disability. It didn’t; by John Kenneth White
National Constitution Center: Presidential Disability and Succession

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Brett Davis’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License