By Dave Hansen
On June 28 of this year, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participated in a historic debate between the two major party presidential candidates in this year’s November election. Literally millions of people across our country, along with countless thousands worldwide, tuned in to watch the debate, expecting to see a vigorous exchange of ideas on the major issues of the day. What they saw instead was a sitting President who often appeared to be confused, who could not articulate his positions, and who did not understand a simple, direct question. In short, they witnessed a President who had lost the ability to lead, to understand issues, and did not really know what he or his administration stood for.
Democrats who witnessed the debacle by President Biden were horrified and shaken. This was the man who was going to lead their party in the election campaign? Power brokers within the Democratic Party immediately started moving to replace him with a candidate who could at least provide a semblance of leadership to their ticket. After three weeks of gentle nudging and, oftentimes, not-so-gentle shoves, President Biden accepted the fact that he was no longer wanted on the ticket by his party leadership and withdrew from the race.”
Biden was dumped over the cliff, and a new, more articulate, more “alive” candidate was chosen, not by the Democratic Party as a whole, but by party power brokers. Without having run in one primary, received one Democratic vote, or had her name placed in nomination in any Democratic state convention, Vice President Kamala Harris was anointed and crowned as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
Problem solved.
Maybe it was for the Democratic Party. They now have a candidate who appears to be more in control of her faculties. However, a larger and much more serious problem still exists: Joe Biden is still the President of the United States. If he is incapable of making a cognizant presence in a simple, ninety-minute debate, how can we expect him to fulfill the complex and awesome duties of being President and the recognized leader of the free world?
Very simply, while the Democrat party finally has a candidate, the United States is still without a President.
On July 6, 1965, Congress submitted to the states the text of what was to become the 25th Amendment to the Constitution. On February 10, 1967, Nevada became the 38th state to ratify that proposal, thus making it an official part of the Constitution. The 25th Amendment provides direction on four subjects. First, it provides a process for filling a vacancy in the office of Vice President. Second, it provides a process for the Vice President to be temporarily designated as “Acting President” if the President is incapacitated for a short period of time. This has been used on occasion when a President has undergone surgery. Third, it provides a process for removing a President by an action of the Vice President and the President’s Cabinet. This has never been used and would likely only be used if a President had a medical condition that left him in a coma or if he was mentally incapacitated. It is highly unlikely that, short of either of those conditions occurring, a Vice President and Cabinet, all of whom are appointed by the President, would remove him or her if the President did not want to leave.
The fourth provision of the 25th Amendment, which receives very little attention, states the following, “…or of such other body as Congress may by law provide…” as a means for removing a President. In other words, Congress could establish or designate a committee or group to remove a President.
Is this likely to happen in the case of removing President Biden from office? Not likely, given the short time frame between now and January 20, 2025, and the fact that Democrats control the Senate. That said, the possibility exists for it to happen. We live in a very dangerous and fast-moving world right now. Wars seem to be starting overnight. Economic crises take root weekly. Terrorism of all kinds—military, economic, high tech—flashes into our lives daily. We as a country, and we as a world, need a leader who understands these challenges, who can act decisively on our behalf, and who we believe will respond appropriately and in our best interests. Right now, we do not have that quality of leadership in the White House.
On October 2, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke. The fact that he had suffered the stroke and was largely incapacitated for the final 16 months of his presidency was kept hidden from the public and much of the media. The leader in the effort to keep his mental and physical condition hidden was his wife, Edith, who then ran the White House and the Executive Branch for those last 16 months of Wilson’s term.
Given the fact that the White House and our elected officials are more carefully scrutinized in today’s world, thanks to a more aggressive media, 24-hour news cycles, and social media, a President today could not be kept “hidden” from the public for 16 months. However, prior to June 28, we as a country were reassured that President Biden was “on top of his game,” fully in charge, and as alert and sharp as ever. We believed those lies until we saw him in action in the debate with Donald Trump. The United States needs a leader who is capable of leading, not one who no longer has the capacity to provide that leadership. Congress has a pathway to remove our incompetent President and replace him with someone better able to fulfill the responsibilities of the office. Congress should act now to enact the provisions of the 25th Amendment. Yes, it is a long shot, but one does not know what can happen down the road once the process starts. If Congress is unwilling to act, then maybe it is time for a thorough reevaluation of the 25th Amendment and for changes, if necessary, to be made so that it can be made more workable.
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Dave Hansen only and not Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.
