The 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called for reform of the 25th Amendment to allow for the removal of vice presidents Saturday at a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin.
President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the 2024 Democrat ticket on July 21 following his poor debate performance against Trump on June 27. Trump, who among many Republicans asserts the Democrats worked diligently to cover up Biden’s cognitive decline, declared his support for “modifying” the 25th Amendment to make a vice president like Harris eligible for impeachment over her alleged role in hiding Biden’s diminished mental acuity.
“I will support modifying the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a vice president lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the President of the United States, if you do that with a coverup of the President of the United States, it’s ground for impeachment immediately and removal from office. Because that’s what they did,” Trump said.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: I will support modifying the 25th Amendment to make clear that if a Vice President lies or engages in a conspiracy to cover up the incapacity of the President of the United States, it is grounds for impeachment and removal from office.
*Ahem* @KamalaHarris pic.twitter.com/r3cFcA1cYe
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 7, 2024
The 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that two-thirds of both chambers of Congress may vote to declare a president unfit for office. After a successful vote, the vice president will continue acting as president.
During the 2020 election cycle, former Biden-Harris campaign officials and the DNC created a program to detect, track and have social media platforms flag “misinformation narratives” including online discussion about Biden’s mental fitness for office, according to Zoom videos obtained by journalist Matt Orfalea. (RELATED: Trump Announces Elon Musk’s Role In Possible Future Administration)
Biden’s abandoned campaign for a second term was mired with concerns regarding his age and ability to continue acting as president, especially following the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s October 2023 report. Hur referred to Biden as unfit for trial, calling him a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” The Department of Justice (DOJ) rejected Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) from several media outlets demanding the release of audio tapes of Biden’s interview.
Top Democrats including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former President Barack Obama privately pressured Biden to drop his reelection bid as many party lawmakers publicly called for the president to step aside.
In the weeks leading up to his withdrawal, Biden took part in various media interviews insisting he was fit for a second term. Biden told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos July 5 that it would take the word of the “Lord Almighty” for him to drop out; the president announced the end of his campaign on social media 16 days later.
In his first interview since dropping out, Biden told CBS News in an interview that aired on Aug. 11 that many Democrats in the House and Senate believed he would have “hurt” their down-ballot races if he were to still be the party’s candidate.
While doing his walkthrough at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Biden did not deliver a coherent answer when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him how he feels about Trump’s claims that the Democrats pushed him off the ballot.
