Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who has previously spoken out against outgoing President Donald Trump’s post-election fight against the election outcome, has now publicly called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment against Trump. The amendment allows for the vice president and a majority of the president’s Cabinet members to formally certify that the president is unfit for office and thereby remove him from power, transferring the powers of the presidency to the vice president. This mechanism’s original intent was to deal with situations in which the president became physically incapacitated, but it’s also useful against Trump’s dangerous and delusional egomania.
Day 1 vs. Day 1,448 pic.twitter.com/OohffkCQrc
— 11th Hour (@11thHour) January 6, 2021
Kinzinger commented as follows:
‘Yesterday was a sad day, as we all know. It was a day when fire stoked by the president and other leaders finally leapt out of the pit, and it lit the trees. Thankfully, the strength of our Constitution and democracy held, and we emerge today a little battered, but resolved. What happened yesterday is a wake-up call to many, but it’s a call to accountability for others… Sadly, yesterday it became evident that not only has the president abdicated his duty to protect the American people and the people’s house — he invoked and inflamed passions that only gave fuel to the insurrection that we saw here. When pressed to move and denounce the violence, he barely did so, while of course victimizing himself and seeming to give a wink and a nod to those doing it. All indications are that the president has become unmoored — not just from his duty or even his oath but from reality itself.’
Thus, Kinzinger said that it’s “time to invoke the 25th Amendment and end this nightmare.” Watch his message below:
It’s with a heavy heart I am calling for the sake of our Democracy that the 25th Amendment be invoked. My statement: pic.twitter.com/yVyQrYcjuD
— Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) January 7, 2021
Other members of Congress have previously called for new actions against the president like another impeachment and the invocation of the 25th Amendment. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), a member of Democratic leadership in the House, commented as follows:
‘[The] next days and weeks remain dangerous. Donald Trump is a traitor to our country and our Constitution. He must be removed from office and prevented from further endangering our country and our people.’
Donald Trump is a traitor to our country and our Constitution. He must be removed from office and prevented from further endangering our country and our people. 2/2
— Katherine Clark (@RepKClark) January 6, 2021
In messages on Wednesday amidst the violence, Trump appeared to condone and excuse the insurrectionists’ actions. Trump released a petulant video message on Wednesday in which, addressing the rioters, he said, “I know how you feel,” as if condoning their actions, and in a follow-up post, he insisted that that “[these] are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long,” delusionally excusing a violent insurrection.
Just seeing this Trump tweet, which Twitter removed. This is the language of an insurgent who leads a terrorist movement. pic.twitter.com/mGPplJmYHn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 7, 2021
