Plan unfolding to sack ‘treasonous’ Trump before Presidential term concludes

Donald Trump has acknowledged his loss – and issued a grovelling message about the Capitol siege. But insiders have revealed why he conceded now.

With just two weeks left in office, Donald Trump has finally acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in November’s presidential election.

In a surprising video message today – a day after “unprecedented” riots and the storming of the Capitol shocked the world – the US President condemned the “heinous attack”, declaring that his “only goal was to ensure the integrity of the vote”.

“Now Congress has certified the results. A new administration will be sworn in on January 20. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation,” he said in the clip.

“To the citizens of our country, serving as your president has been the honour of my lifetime.”

While the 74-year-old called for a moment of “healing and reconciliation” in the wake of behaviour that many have claimed his own incited, insiders have claimed the motive behind Mr Trump’s speech was less about restoring peace and more about saving himself.

Multiple sources told CNN that Mr Trump was “borderline enthusiastic” over the protests and did not wish to condemn them – only agreeing to record the short video message after being lobbied by multiple staffers and Republican lawmakers.

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pic.twitter.com/csX07ZVWGe

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2021

Jim Acosta on CNN saying sources say the only reason he issued today’s video was to head off any move to invoke the 25th or impeachment

— Nic Christensen (@nicchristensen) January 8, 2021

A White House adviser in discussions with senior officials told CNN the President only recorded the video because his presidency had been threatened by looming resignations and potential impeachment.

“I think that video was done only because almost all his senior staff was about to resign, and impeachment is imminent,” the adviser said.

“That message and tone should have been relayed election night … not after people died.”

Some were fearful of what Mr Trump, who has remained convinced for weeks that he won by a “landslide” victory, could attempt in the dying days of his presidency.

It may seem a farfetched idea to unseat Mr Trump – after all he has already been impeached once and remains in the Oval Office. But an amendment to the US constitution may provide a mechanism to dethrone Mr Trump. It won’t be easy; one commenter said it would have to be proved a president was as “nutty as a fruit cake” for it to get across the line.

If invoked, it would lead to an ignominious end to Mr Trump’s time in office. And it demands his close ally, Vice President Mike Pence to turn on him.

Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker, a Democrat, was one of several politicians to call for Mr Trump to go.

“There is no doubt in my mind that his efforts to encourage a coup represent high treason to this democracy and all Americans. He espouses a danger to our nation. He must be impeached and removed from office immediately,” he said on Wednesday US time.

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Vice President Mike Pence (found) would have to turn on US President Donald Trump for the plan to succeed. Picture: MANDREL NGAN / AFP.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott – a Republican who voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 elections – agreed.

“The President’s delusion, fabrication, self-interest and ego have led us, step by step, to this very low and very dangerous moment in American history.

“The fabric of our democracy and the principles of our republic are under attack by the President. Enough is enough. President Trump should resign or be removed from office by his Cabinet, or by the Congress.”

Vice President Pence can help put down this attempted coup if he wants to.

I’m circulating a letter urging him to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

If he doesn’t, then Congress should go ahead and impeach the President.

— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 6, 2021

From the Washington Post Editorial Board:

Trump caused the assault on the Capitol. He must be removed. https://t.co/ZPHJGvmdTP pic.twitter.com/T9wqtBwJBx

— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) January 7, 2021

Democrat Michigan Congresswoman Ilhan Omar declared she had begun drafting articles of the President’s impeachment.

The Washington Post, which earlier this week published audio of the President asking Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find 11,780 votes” so he could overturn the election result, said the 25th amendment should be invoked.

“The president is unfit to remain in office. Every second he retains the vast powers of the presidency is a threat to public order and national security,” the paper said in an editorial.

“Vice President Pence should immediately gather the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment.”

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Police officers stand guard as supporters of President Donald Trump gather in front of the Capitol Building in Washington DC. Picture: REUTERS/Leah Millis.

THE POWER OF THE 25TH AMENDMENT

The 25th amendment to the US Constitution deals with how the country will be led should the President no longer be able to govern.

Much of the amendment concerns scenarios where the President is unequivocally out for the count: death, resignation or serious illness.

But section four is the most controversial. This allows for the president to be declared “unable to discharge the powers and duties” of office, even if the person sitting in the Oval Office is still making decisions.

Section four could be invoked by the vice president along with a majority of cabinet members. Once invoked, the VP, in this case Mike Pence, would become acting president.

“Because it was imagined for a case such as Kennedy’s assassination, where an unconscious president might recover, (section four) allows a president to reclaim his office when he considers himself fit,” Mark Meigs, a US historian at the University of Paris wrote on website The Conversation.

“Hence the certainty of a power struggle should section four be used to dispose of a president who is conscious, active and unwilling to leave office.”

The president can challenge the move by informing the President pro tempore of the Senate (the second most senior figure in the Senate) and the speaker of the House of Representatives. The VP can then, in turn, send another declaration of the president’s unfitness.

“At that point, both houses of Congress have 21 days to deliver a two-thirds majority confirming the president’s unfitness and thus the vice president’s ascension,” said Prof Meigs.

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President Donald Trump has been criticised for holding a rally espousing continually debunked claims of electoral fraud hours before the riots kicked off. Picture: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP.

THE 25TH HAS BEEN INVOKED BEFORE

Some sections of the 25th have been invoked before. On several occasions when a sitting president was undergoing surgery, section three has allowed a strictly temporary handover of power.

George H W Bush became acting president for eight hours on July 13, 1985, when then President Ronald Reagan had a colectomy. During Mr Bush’s term as president, between 1989 and 1993, his vice president Dan Quayle had two, two-hour stints as acting president when his boss underwent two separate colonoscopies.

Section four, however, has never been used. But it has been discussed several times during Mr Trump’s tenure due the perception of his erratic behaviour.

In 2018, the New York Times published an opinion piece by a “senior official in the Trump administration” which raised the 25th.

“Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis.”

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney become acting president on two short occasions after the 25th amendment was invoked. Picture: AP Photo/Olivia Harris.

‘NUTTY AS A FRUIT CAKE’

Section four is vague. It doesn’t set out exact yardsticks for dethroning a sitting president.

“The only time it would present itself – the only time the president would say ‘I’m well and able’ and the vice president and cabinet would disagree – would be if the president was as nutty as a fruit cake,” the late senator Birch Bayh, who helped draft the 25th amendment, wrote in his book One Heartbeat Away: Presidential Disability and Succession, in an extract quoted by USA Today.

Evan after the attacks in Washington, do senior politicians have the stomach to sack Trump days before he leaves office? Picture: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP.

Some politicians have now openly said it should be considered.

However, the need for a two-thirds majority on the floor of both houses if Mr Trump were to challenge the strategy makes things difficult.

Several Republican members would have to vote against the President. That risks angering his support base, whose votes many GOP politicians will crave well into the future.

And it remains to be seen whether Mr Pence has the stomach to bring down Mr Trump who has just a fortnight left on the clock.

But if the President continues to make questionable statements, to be seen to side with rioters and put US democracy at continued risk, even his most ardent political fans may ponder using the 25th to dislodge the 45th.

– with Jessica Wang.