The calls come after Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Tehran doesn’t agree to a deal with the United States. Trump previously set a Tuesday 8 p.m. EDT deadline by which Iran must agree to a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the U.S. would bomb its electrical grid and other infrastructure.
Democrats say the threat, if carried out, amounts to a “war crime” that would punish the people of Iran for the actions of its government.
“The fate of millions of innocent civilians now depends on the whims of a sick and demented man,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) wrote on X. “This is pure evil. Republicans, if there were ever a time to stand up, it’s now. We must invoke the 25th Amendment before it’s too late.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a possible 2028 presidential contender, echoed the sentiment in a post on X.
“This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted. To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat.”
But it’s not just House Democrats who have called for his removal.
“Donald Trump must be removed from office,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote on X. “Not only is he waging an illegal war—he’s threatening war crimes. To the members of our military: remember, you do not have to follow illegal orders.”
Democrats are undecided over whether Trump should be removed immediately by the Cabinet or if the president follows through on the threat to destroy Iran’s civilian infrastructure.
“Congress should pass a War Powers Resolution, and if there’s any indication President Trump will follow through on this threat, the cabinet must invoke the 25th Amendment,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) wrote on X.
When the Washington Examiner asked if Vice President JD Vance would be better at handling the war in Iran, Olszewski responded, “Maybe.”
The 25th Amendment allows a president to transfer power voluntarily if they are unable to perform the duties of their office. It was last invoked in November 2021, when then-President Joe Biden voluntarily handed power to Vice President Kamala Harris for 85 minutes while he underwent a routine colonoscopy.
The 25th Amendment also includes a provision enabling the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a president unfit to serve. The amendment specifies that in such an event, if the ousted president contests their inability to serve, then two-thirds of both chambers of Congress must vote to keep the vice president as acting-commander-in-chief.
Vance has been one of Trump’s top messengers throughout the Iran war, as Trump has said he has been getting involved in negotiations himself. While speaking at a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest, the vice president said the end of the Iran war is “ultimately up to the Iranians.”
Some Democrats, including Kamlager-Dove, see Vance as a better alternative to Trump when it comes to Iran.
“While I heavily disagree with Vance on almost everything, at least he’s not in rapid cognitive decline,” Kamlager-Dove told the Washington Examiner.
‘THIS IS EVIL’: TRUMP’S THREAT TO BOMB IRAN POWER GRID RANKLES ONE-TIME MAGA ALLIES
The White House slammed Democrats in their call to invoke the 25th Amendment.
“This is pathetic,” White House Spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Washington Examiner. “Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office. The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.”
Hailey Bullis contributed to this article.
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