President Biden’s recent snapping at his staff when he forgot to introduce Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did nothing to restore confidence in his capability to serve. The good news was that when he met with Ukraine’s President Zelensky at the end of the week, at least he did not call him President Putin, as he did when they met in July.
With the exception of the White House staff and those out-of-touch Leftists who work at MSNBC, there is almost no one remaining in America who really believes that President Biden is functioning as our nation’s Commander-in-Chief. But, if not him, who? It doesn’t seem like it is Kamala. (She is sleep-walking toward the Presidency — as if she thought that she already “had it in the bag,” as if “the fix was in,” to mix metaphors.) Who else? Jill? Hillary? Bill? Barack? White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients — not exactly a household name. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan? White House Counsel Ed Siskel – another Obama retread? Secretary of State Antony Blinken? Or, most likely, a committee of all of the above and maybe a few more?
It would be my view that if Biden cannot do his job, he should be replaced — by the Vice President — not by a secret committee. That would be the Constitutional way — even though I know these people don’t hold much stock in the Constitution. Some may disagree, thinking that if Kamala were actually sworn in as President, it might cause more people to vote for her as the incumbent, but at least it would prevent her from telling us what she would do when she takes office — because she would be not only in office, but in the highest office.
What really threatens the nation is the reckless manner in which this anonymous committee is running the government, particularly in matters of foreign policy. There is no caution, no professionalism, and indeed, no maturity. Do they really think it wise to continue to provoke the country with the world’s largest store of nuclear warheads?
Based on my experience in government, those who are protected from accountability act increasingly irresponsibly. That seems to be what is happening here. Only days ago, it appeared that “our government” had authorized Zelensky to use our weapons, including ATACMS missles, to strike deep into Russia. President Putin made clear he would consider such an attack to come not from the Ukraine, but from the United States and NATO countries. Just yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov passed on a similar warning at the United Nations. Have we backed off our reckless position? No one knows for sure.
If we truly have a caretaker committee running the government, it should act like a caretaker and preserve the status quo — not provoke a nuclear war. Whoever you are serving on that committee, do not think for one more minute that your anonymity will protect you from accountability for provoking a war. My strong suggestion to you is — STAND DOWN.
I am sick of the arrogance of many in our current government who think we are the only superpower in the world. I would rather they demonstrate a measure of humility before our entire nation is humbled.
There is no shame in not being able to serve out one’s term. This is certainly not the first time that a President has been unable to perform the duties of his office before his term ended. There are stories of James Madison being incapacitated in 1813. James Garfield lingered for 80 days after he was shot by an assassin in 1881. President Wilson suffered a stroke in 1919, and his duties were secretly assumed by his wife and staff. More recently President Eisenhower had a heart attack in 1955. During these periods, the only guidance we had was the Constitution’s succession clause, which simply states that the Vice President takes over in the event of a President’s “inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office.” Art. Sect. 1, cl. 6. (Emphasis added).
Without a legal method to determine when the President was unable to discharge his role, there was every reason that Vice Presidents did not rush to push aside the President. However, I thought we fixed this problem in 1967 when we ratified the 25th Amendment. Section 4 of that Amendment empowers the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet to make a written declaration that the President is unable to serve, send it to Congress, and it becomes effective. There is another provision explaining how a President may resume office, and in the event of a dispute, the matter is left to Congress.
The 25th Amendment was written to replace a President incapable of serving, but just weeks ago it was put to a very different use. It was used to replace a candidate for President. To be sure, it was President Trump’s debate with Biden on June 27, 2024 that led to his removal, where Biden made amazing statements like “We finally beat Medicare.” However, the cabal that pushed him aside was led by highly skilled political operative, Nancy Pelosi. Politico made her sound like a mob boss:
“Nancy made clear that they could do this the easy way or the hard way,” said one Democrat familiar with private conversations who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “She gave them three weeks of the easy way. It was about to be the hard way.”
It is beyond question that the Biden who “debated” Trump on June 27 was and is unfit to serve. He was not just unfit to be a candidate; he is unfit to serve as President. This is an exceedingly dangerous time. A combustible international landscape combined with massive domestic challenges place every American at grave risk. If he will not resign, Kamala and the Cabinet have a duty under the 25th Amendment to remove President Biden before the secret committee running our government blunders our nation into a war that no one can win.
