If Trump believes what he's saying, we really do need to deploy the 25th Amendment By Jennifer Rubin

[DonViejo]

By Jennifer Rubin November 29 at 12:45 PM

-snip- (two paragraphs from the NYT about Trump now denying the Access Hollywood tape is really him)

It seems to be a given among those who know Trump best that he is out of touch with reality. (“Mr. Trump’s friends did not bother denying that the president was creating an alternative version of events. One Republican lawmaker, who asked not to be identified, said that Mr. Trump’s false statements had become familiar to people over time. The president continues to boast of winning districts that he did not in fact win, the lawmaker said, and of receiving 52 percent of the women’s vote, even though exit polls show that 42 percent of women supported him.”) Rather than reveal the person with his finger on the nuclear button is disconnected from reality, his enablers work to conceal Trump’s malady. (“Mr. Trump’s journeys into the realm of manufactured facts have been frequent enough that his own staff has sought to nudge friendly lawmakers to ask questions of Mr. Trump in meetings that will steer him toward safer terrain.”)

Some Republicans find this all amusing. “One senator who listened as the president revived his doubts about Mr. Obama’s birth certificate chuckled on Tuesday as he recalled the conversation,” the Times reports. “The president, he said, has had a hard time letting go of his claim that Mr. Obama was not born in the United States.” Yup, a regular laugh-riot. A president so warped he holds onto racist conspiracy theories for years. A real knee-slapper. Think about that: He has a hard time letting go of an outright lie, a crackpot conspiracy theory that no one of sound mind honestly embraces.

To be blunt, the senator and Trump’s other enablers are unpatriotic and irresponsible. Their obligation is to make clear, not conceal, that the commander in chief cannot process reality and is so emotionally damaged that he must cling to long debunked falsehoods or relapse into denial after an interlude with reality. This is not, as the unnamed lawmaker suggested from behind the skirts of journalistic anonymity, cause for merriment. And it’s no trifling matter.

The Cabinet has an obligation to determine if the president is so impaired that he “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” as the 25th Amendment sets forth. Congress has an obligation to defend the Constitution and exercise oversight, to gather testimony and other relevant evidence to determine if Trump is dangerously impaired.

To be blunt, the senator and Trump’s other enablers are unpatriotic and irresponsible. Their obligation is to make clear, not conceal, that the commander in chief cannot process reality and is so emotionally damaged that he must cling to long debunked falsehoods or relapse into denial after an interlude with reality. This is not, as the unnamed lawmaker suggested from behind the skirts of journalistic anonymity, cause for merriment. And it’s no trifling matter.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/11/29/if-trump-believes-what-hes-saying-we-really-do-need-to-deploy-the-25th-amendment/?utm_term=.232d16abca5d

[world wide wally]

1. The insane clown pussy (grabber)

[Kirk Lover]

8. Thank you...I'll be using this one.

[NewJeffCT]

2. And Rubin is a Republican saying this

calling for the 25th Amendment

[steve2470]

3. I don't agree with Ms. Rubin on a lot of things, but she has gained my respect

She and Ana Navarro, among others, are at least trying to have integrity. I respect her, although I disagree strongly with her conservatism.

[gratuitous]

4. Keep this up, Jennifer Rubin, and I might find it in my heart to forgive your past career

Nice to see the scales have fallen from Rubin's eyes, and I hope it's a permanent condition.

She hits many of the exact same notes here that I wish others in the media would pick up on: This isn't funny or chuckleworthy. Excusing Trump's behavior is every bit as bad as the behavior itself. It doesn't serve the country, the citizens, the world or even the plutocrats engineering this train wreck, to continue to turn a deaf ear to Trump's unhinged ranting.

And, it doesn't matter whether Trump believes what he's saying or not. He's the President of the United States. He doesn't get the benefit of any doubt, he doesn't get backsies. What he says is the policy and position of the United States. If that hasn't quite sunk into his little pea brain by now, it's not up to everyone else on the planet to make allowances for him.

[yonder]

10. nice!

"... it doesn't matter whether Trump believes what he's saying or not. He's the President of the United States. He doesn't get the benefit of any doubt, he doesn't get backsies."

I'll be sending that to Sarah effin Sanders first and my own red-hatted reps, second.

[rainin]

5. And there continues to be no consequences

for his enablers. How different might our situation look if we blamed the "adults" for the "child's" behavior from the very beginning?

What if we had called out Mitch and Ryan and other republicans after EVERY offense. Aren't the adults responsible? They are the enablers. We know that. They are the reason he faces no consequences for his behavior.

Democrats have no power except the power of our objections. Our objections have no impact on Trump because he's protected. What if we pursued Ryan and Mitch with everything we have?

[lagomorph777]

7. I think a case for obstruction of justice can be made against Ryan,

for keeping Dustbin Nunes on the Intelligence Committee

[L. Coyote]

6. "the commander in chief cannot process reality and is so emotionally damaged ...." Agreed.

But first, the Rs need to give him a BILLION $$$$$ bonus (tax break) .... what a FUCKING DISGUSTING situation.

[Honeycombe8]

9. It's downright anti-American to let someone stay in office when not in full control of his mind. nt

[Perseus]

11. The man-child has kinapped an entire country

and those who can do not do anything about it...why aren't the democrats making the republicans look bad? why are they so afraid of the republicans?

The democrats need to start pushing for impeachment, they need to start showing to the nation and the world the complicity of the republican party.

This is past insane, this monster has kidnapped the country and the World...one man cannot be that powerful.

And Muller needs to hurry up, evil works very fast, its easier to destroy than to create, and these people are destroying at a very rapid pace, the consequences of this experiment are going to be very hard on everyone and very difficult to fix them because the alternatives of Pence, and Ryan are not better.

[Perseus]

12. IF, if, if????

Of course he does, and if he doesn't then what other things does it prove besides the fact that he is a filthy human being? But believe it or not he is an irresponsible evil character who has proven to be very dangerous to the entire World. He needs to be removed from office along with his family and the entire swamp.

This is not a game, this is real and it has become very dangerous...If, if...If you stop asking questions and start acting we will all be much better for it.

[Poiuyt]

13. Jennifer Rubin has written some great articles blasting trump

She should be required reading!

[moondust]

14. Duh.

The birther nonsense alone was enough to disqualify him from holding public office and warrant laughing him out of the public eye--more than two loony years ago.

[ffr]

15. Some of the military's generals are already there, ready to disobey his orders

if they're unlawful.

What does that tell us about this adolescent turd in the White House? He does everything out of spite. He hates. He's vindictive. And he's all these things towards the American people for crying out loud!

IMPEACH NOW!

[ismnotwasm]

17. K&R