Donald Trump‘s expletive-laden Easter Day threat to Iran is raising major concerns and calls for the invocation of the 25th Amendment to remove the 47th president of the United States from office.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F—kin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, threatening to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, which would be considered war crimes and in violation of international law, experts warn.
Following the president’s threat, he gave Iranian leaders an arbitrary deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET to open the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway currently blocked by Iranians, through which more than 20% of the world’s oil and gas flows. As a result of the Strait’s blockage, gas prices in the U.S. and around the globe have skyrocketed. Trump’s deadline comes amid the White House’s claim that a 45-day ceasefire is in talks with Iran.
The escalation from Trump—despite claiming during a primetime speech last week that the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran would soon come to an end—has drawn condemnation from lawmakers and some even calling for him to be removed under the 25th Amendment, which has never been invoked under these circumstances.
Under the Constitution, a president can be removed from office when the Vice President and a majority of the president’s Cabinet inform Congress in a written declaration that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Upon doing so, the Vice President immediately assumes the powers and duties of the office as acting president. The 25th Amendment, which was ratified in 1967 following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, has only been invoked temporarily when a U.S. president underwent a medical procedure.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who sits on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote on X, “If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”
“The emperor has no clothes. Time for the #25thAmendment. Congress and the Cabinet must act,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico.
The office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent political foe of Trump’s, also wrote on X, “GRANDPA HAS FINALLY LOST IT. HE’S SITTING ON HIS GOLD TOILET, SCREAMING ABOUT POWER PLANT DAY. WHICH FOR HIM IN REALITY WILL BE POOPY PANTS DAY. MANY ARE CALLING FOR THE 25TH AMENDMENT. HE PROBABLY WON’T EVEN KNOW IT. HE’LL KEEP SCREAMING FROM HIS THRONE IN HIS BURGER KING CROWN.”
It appears the public thinks there’s a good chance Trump could be removed from office amid the ongoing Iran war. According to Newsweek, on Kalshi, the regulated prediction platform, “trading volume rose as users bet on whether Cabinet‑level action to declare the president unfit might occur.”
Iran joined in on the calls to remove Trump from office, with its embassy trolling the U.S. president in a series of posts on X. Retweeting Trump’s threat to attack its energy and transportation infrastructure, the Iranian embassy in South Africa said, “Seriously think about the 25th amendment, Section 4.” In another post, Iran said, “One of the few good things about the war was that Trump finally understood the difference between ‘Strait’ and ‘Straight’.”
Others called on Congress to take up war powers legislation to force Trump to end the war.
“One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday. These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war,” said Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) slammed President Trump’s “deranged mocking of Islam and his threats to attack civilian infrastructure in Iran are reckless, dangerous, and indicative of a mindset that shows indifference to human life and contempt for religious beliefs.”
“These statements are not made in a vacuum. They follow a long pattern of anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies that have dehumanized Muslims at home and abroad. The casual use of ‘Praise be to Allah’ in the context of violent threats reflects a disturbing willingness to weaponize religious language while simultaneously denigrating Islam and its followers,” CAIR said in a statement.
“Congress must not remain on vacation while the President openly promises to commit war crimes that could trigger even more regional and global conflict. Lawmakers have a duty to reconvene and to reassert their authority over matters of war and peace, and to ensure that no president can unilaterally drag our nation into war.”
