More than 70 Democrats have called for President Trump's removal from office following his social media threats against Iran, but former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki said the effort will not succeed.
Psaki appeared on MSNBC's "Straight Shooter" with Stephen A. Smith and addressed the Democratic push to invoke the 25th Amendment, which outlines a process for removing a president who is physically or mentally unfit to serve.
"I have no issue with people saying they're for invoking the 25th Amendment, but it's not going to happen," Psaki said. "So, it's like why are we spending so much time, you know?"
The controversy stems from a Trump social media post claiming "a whole civilization will die tonight" if Tehran didn't meet a deadline for a peace deal with the United States.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers have continued to push for Trump's removal under the 25th Amendment, arguing his rhetoric demonstrates he is unfit for office.
Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) told NewsNation's Leland Vittert that when a president threatens those kinds of things, it is "clearly unhinged behavior."
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation with more than 50 Democratic co-sponsors that would establish a commission to review the president's fitness to remain in office.
"We are at a dangerous precipice, and it is now a matter of national security for Congress to fulfill its responsibilities under the 25th Amendment to protect the American people from an increasingly volatile and unstable situation," Raskin said in a statement.
What the Right Is Saying
Psaki, a Democrat who served as Biden's first White House press secretary, expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the 25th Amendment push from her own party.
Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) also criticized Trump's comments after the social media post, writing on X: "25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization."
The political reality, as Psaki noted, is that invoking the 25th Amendment requires action by the vice president and a majority of cabinet secretaries, unlikely to occur given Republican control of the executive branch.
What the Numbers Show
More than 70 Democratic lawmakers have publicly called for Trump's removal from office following his Iran-related rhetoric.
Rep. Jamie Raskin's bill to establish a presidential fitness commission has attracted more than 50 Democratic co-sponsors in the House.
The 25th Amendment has never been invoked to remove a sitting president. The process requires the vice president and a majority of cabinet secretaries to declare the president unfit, or a complex congressional process if the president contests the determination.
The Bottom Line
The 25th Amendment effort faces significant political obstacles, with Psaki and others noting it is unlikely to succeed given current power dynamics. However, Democrats continue to use the constitutional mechanism as a messaging tool to express opposition to Trump's rhetoric and foreign policy approach. The Raskin bill, while having more than 50 co-sponsors, faces long odds in a Republican-controlled Congress. The debate over presidential fitness reflects broader partisan divisions over Trump's leadership style and foreign policy decisions.