Is
Donald Trump a madman like Kim Jong Un or does he just play one on
TV? To put it another way, is the president dumb, insane, or is he
trying to throw the game—the game in this case being his
presidency--to avoid impeachment or even worse, jail?
There
are rumblings from Republicans and Democrats alike that President
Trump has been acting peculiar and unhinged lately, even by his own
standards. People are concerned about his rambling
and incoherent speeches. Trump just gave a bizarre, awkward
interview with CBS, in which he cut things short after the
interviewer repeatedly asked him questions about his unfounded
wiretapping claims.
With
each and every passing day, Trump displays his ignorance of world
affairs and history. This is race-based mediocrity at its best, or
its worst, backed up by the force of the U.S. government. Because you
know the country would never cut a black president this much slack,
or allow such incompetence from an African-American administration.
This president receives his foreign affairs lessons from the
president of China. He wonders why the nation couldn’t have
made a deal to stop the Civil War, and laments that his hero - slave
owning genocidal President Andrew Jackson - couldn’t do
anything about it.
This
most unfortunate occupant of the White House wants war with North
Korea, but then again thinks its leader is a “smart cookie”
and would consider meeting with him. Trump also blames
the constitutional checks and balances for his first 100
disastrous days in office, and wants to abolish
the First Amendment. The Republican president even called for a
government shutdown, and he and his party control the executive
branch and both houses of Congress, the whole federal government!
Mental
health professionals and presidential
historians are united in their concern over Trump’s mental
state, and their belief this man is not right.
We
know Trump is ignorant and in over his head with his White House gig,
and this latest reality show is not working as planned. Who knew
running the nation would be this hard? More importantly, with the
Russiagate investigations showing no signs of going away anytime
soon, is Trump possibly looking for a way out? Is he trying to throw
the game? Is he really mentally unfit for the office, or is he
feigning insanity—hoping to use the insanity defense to avoid
prison time when the sh*t goes down and the FBI comes for him, his
people and his sketchy, shifty-eyed fake royal family?
There
are numerous investigations taking place into Russian interference
with the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion with the
Trump campaign, including the FBI, the House and the Senate. Even New
York Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman is ready to go to battle with Trump over public
corruption, illegal business activities and receiving payments
from foreign governments, a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the
U.S. Constitution. As this mess unfolds and Trump associates find
themselves with criminal charges, we should expect more Republicans
to distance themselves from their leader, or worse, if they have
dirty hands, recuse
themselves or resign
to spend more time with their family, as Republicans tend to do.
Given
all this, maybe Trump is looking for a way out. As Evan Osnos wrote
in The
New Yorker,
the Constitution provides two ways to show Trump the door:
Impeachment, or the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, which provides for the
removal of a president who is “unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” including a
president who is mentally impaired.
Either the Vice President and a majority of the cabinet, or a body
appointed by the Congress can make such an assessment. If the
president refuses, then a two-thirds vote in Congress is necessary to
remove the president.
One
way or another, there are folks out there entertaining the idea of
impeaching this most unpopular and corrupt president, locking him up
or taking away his money. Knowing Trump, he might want to get ahead
of the curve and find an easy way out. Would the insanity defense
serve that purpose for him? One way or another, something needs to
happen soon, because we’re running out of time, and this man is
going to get us all killed.
This commentary was originally published by The Grio
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