Trump Claims 25th Amendment Is Of ‘Zero Risk’ To Him
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In his first formal public remarks since his supporters carried out a violent riot at the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump proclaimed Tuesday there was no risk of him being removed from office via the 25th Amendment.
In a brief speech at a border wall in Alamo, Texas, Trump dismissed efforts to remove him from office before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in next week.
“The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration,” Trump said. “As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for.”
Trump’s comments come as the House readies to vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the amendment, which allows the vice president and either a majority of the president’s Cabinet or a review body appointed by Congress to deem the president unfit for office and force him to step down.
Pence, with whom Trump met yesterday, has made no indication of whether he would do so.
There has been a push for the vice president to invoke the 25th Amendment since a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a deadly insurrection last week. They had just left a Trump rally, where the president baselessly insisted the election he lost had been stolen from him. The mob grew out of control, forcing lawmakers into hiding, but Trump refused to condemn the rioters and said they were “very special.”
Those pushing to put the 25th Amendment into action say Trump poses an immediate threat to national security.
House Democrats have also drawn up an article of impeachment against the president. Trump similarly dismissed this potential route to remove him from office on Tuesday.
“The impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witch hunt in the history of our country,” Trump said, “and is causing tremendous anger and division and pain, far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time.”
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
