Mr. President Trump, You’re Fired!
When is enough, enough? In an office setting, if 21 women came forward indicating a man sexually assaulted them, what would happen to him? He would be fired. What if he engaged in unethical behavior? Fired. What if he retweeted hateful anti-Muslim tweets, made racist comments such as “we don’t want those people from those s***hole countries,” and propped up neo-Nazis in a racial violence? Fired. What if his senior staff are found guilty of lying under oath? Fired. What if he came into the office at 11am and spent most of the afternoon in “executive time” watching TV? Fired. What if he had an extramarital affair with a porn star and had his attorney pay off the woman? Definitely fired. Anyone else would be fired. So why is the president immune?
Is waiting for the next presidential election the only option we have to eject a misogynist, racist, incompetent, narcissistic man baby? Should Americans tolerate three more years of this belligerent and profoundly dangerous man who undermines our democracy and global standing in the fragile balance of power?
Some in Congress and the White House argue that impeachment is not viable because the executive authority grants the president immunity from impeachment. They cite the president’s exclusive recognition power as described by the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Zivotofsky v. Kerry that places a limitation on the scope of what can constitute a high crime. (For an objective overview of presidential power and constitutional responsibility refer to this Boston College Law Review paper.)
The “Need to Impeach” campaign spearheaded by Tom Steyer, a hedge-fund billionaire, is petitioning calls on members of Congress to back the impeachment. To date, the campaign has gathered over four million signatures. Steyer asserts that the president poses a “clear and present danger” to the country and is mentally unstable. These and other highly unsettling concerns have been brought into spotlight by Michael Wolf’s tell-all Fire and Fury. This strategy, however, hinges on the Democrats winning back the Congress in 2018. And even if the Democrats retake majority, there is no guarantee of an impeachment.
Recently, Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution has been heavily debated. The amendment states that if, for whatever reason, the vice president and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries decide that the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” they can simply put that down in writing and send it to two people — the speaker of the House and the Senate’s president pro tem. The vice president can then take office as acting president. But this, too, is considered politically infeasible. Some pundits argue that by putting that much power in the hands of others is fertile ground for a coup, although technically Section 4 is covered, though ambiguously, as part of the Constitution. A more realistic reason against using the 25th Amendment is that the GOP would, in fact, commit political suicide admitting that they have knowingly let a corrupt, raving mad, lunatic into the White House.
So if impeachment and Section 4 of the 25th Amendment are not politically feasible (yet), what can the nation do? Watch and let our nation burn? The once proud beacon of democracy is now moving closer to a dictatorial regime. Take for instance, the president’s recent ‘Fake News Awards’ that is challenging the United States’ First Amendment protection for a free press that has long stood as a beacon for independent media around the world.
Ultimately it’s up to us — the people. We have to become the change agents. How did scrappy American colonists, outnumbered 3 to 1, defeat the British troops to gain national independence? It was the iron will of the people. “From the Civil Rights movement to the more recent #MeToo movement, it amply demonstrates that the collective action of the people can bring transformative change. Nothing will happen until we, the people, demand change. It’s only when we choose to stand up for what’s right that we bring positive change to society,” says Scott Amyx, the author of Strive: How Doing the Things Most Uncomfortable Leads to Success. It’s about taking personal risk. “Step outside your comfort zone to rally ‘enough is enough’,” urges Amyx.
Amyx challenges the people to peacefully march until there is change in leadership. “Let your representatives know that you’ve had enough! For GOP members, do what’s uncomfortable — choose not to run for reelection or support the impeachment. First Lady, be courageous and tell the world the truth about your unfaithful husband. Mr. President, do the right thing for once, fire yourself!” #EnoughIsEnough