Trump proposes altering the 25th Amendment to facilitate the potential ousting of a vice president.
If you attempt such a maneuver concealing the president of the USA, it's an immediate justification for impeachment and ousting from office, as that's what transpired, stated Trump during a rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin.
Following Biden's disappointing performance in the June debates and his subsequent decision to withdraw from the presidential race a month later, Trump and his Republican colleagues have put blame on Vice President Kamala Harris and top Democrats for concealing a decay in the president's cognitive abilities.
The Harris campaign chose not to comment on Trump's assertions on Saturday.
Vice President Harris has persisted in defending Biden and his cognitive capabilities, expressing to CNN last month that she has no regrets in affirming weeks after the debate that Biden was capable of serving an additional four-year term.
"Not at all," Harris told CNN's Dana Bash in her first significant TV interview since becoming the fresh Democratic nominee. "He possesses the intelligence, the dedication, and the judgment and temperament that I genuinely believe the American people deserve in their president."
Trump's suggestion arises as he continues to navigate the altered terrain of the 2024 race. Amid his efforts to generate a consistent message to curb Harris' gains, Trump has carried on criticizing Biden. During his Saturday rally, the former president described Biden's victory in the 2020 Democratic primary as a "miracle" and derided his performance at March's State of the Union and the June debates.
"We're managed by ludicrous individuals – ludicrous, ludicrous individuals," Trump said on Saturday. "And we learned that at the debate with Joe. How did that work out?"
The 25th Amendment lays out presidential succession and the method for ousting a president, which necessitates the approval of the vice president and a majority of the president's Cabinet. It fails to address forcibly removing a vice president. Ratifying a constitutional amendment necessitates the approval of three-fourths of US states.
Impeachment, an independent process that wouldn't need amending the Constitution, necessitates a simple majority vote in the House to adopt articles of impeachment and subsequently a two-thirds vote in the Senate to convict. Trump was twice impeached by the House during his initial term, but was not removed from office by the Senate.
Trump's proposal to modify the 25th Amendment resembles past calls to expel him from office. Some members of the former president's Cabinet discussed utilizing the 25th Amendment to dismiss him after the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
In response to Trump's accusations of concealed cognitive decline in President Biden, Republican politicians have targeted Vice President Harris and top Democrats, accusing them of politics that manipulate the public perception of Biden's abilities.
Furthermore, the ongoing rhetoric from Trump about Biden's capabilities and performances in debates and speeches highlights the continued political tension and discourse surrounding the presidency.
