Trump Is Becoming Increasingly Unhinged

If you were to see an overweight old man with orange hair standing on a street corner ranting about being the “chosen one,” the “second coming of God to Jews in Israel,” how “you have to take the children away” from migrants seeking asylum at the southern border, adding the non sequitur that the U.S. should “purchase Greenland,” and then shouting that the hurricane is coming to Alabama, what would you do? Stay and listen, quickly walk away, or call 9-1-1?

If you stayed and listened, you would hear him say: “[A]ny vote for a Democrat is a vote for individuals who hate Israel and hate Jewish people.” He would point out that two first-year Democratic members of Congress (both women of color) being critical of Israel proves that all Democrats hate Israel.

If you’re still listening, he would turn to the migrants and their children seeking refuge at the southern border without taking a breath. He would shout, “We want a great country. We want a country with heart. … [Y]ou have to take the children away. Now, we don’t have to prosecute them, but then we’re not prosecuting them for coming in illegally. That’s not good.” (Actual quote, whatever that means.)

If you’re still standing there, you’d hear him say this about buying Greenland. “What do you guys think about that? Do you think it would work? We protect Denmark. … So [when] the concept came up, I said certainly. … It’s essentially a large real estate deal, with strategic value to the U.S.” He would then add that Denmark’s prime minster is “nasty” for calling this an absurd idea. 

He would then insist, despite the facts, that Hurricane Dorian was supposed to strike Alabama.

Wow! This is our president, the leader of the free world who went to the G-7 intending to convince our allies that it’s not his “trade war” which is going on with China and that the seven should become the eight, reinstating Russia.

This kind of mental instability has become dangerous for America, our allies, and the world. We need a stable leader, which is the role the American president has fulfilled since the end of World War II. The question is, what do we do about it?

If you reached for your smartphone and punched 9-1-1, then you would have thought this man on the corner was in need of emergency help. In the real world of politics, the 9-1-1 equivalent includes: pushing for impeachment, even if the Republican-controlled Senate will not convict; working to vote Trump out of office in 2020; and beginning to advocate for invoking the 25th Amendment.

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution provides: “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of … the principal officers of the executive departments … 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 as Acting President”..

I understand that sounds impossible. But consider that it would only take 14 people to depose the president — Vice President Mike Pence and 13 of Trump’s 24 cabinet members, eight of which (Labor, Homeland Security, Interior, Defense, Homeland Security, Chief of Staff, UN Ambassador, National Intelligence) are acting (not confirmed by the Senate) and therefore could very well be ineligible to “vote” on the removal.

Donald Trump is not equipped to be president of the United States. He does not have the temperament, intelligence, compassion, or a sufficient enough understanding of the political process to be our leader. He is also becoming increasingly unhinged. Our system has safety valves built into it capable of rectifying this problem. It’s up to us to see that they are used.