Donald Trump’s supporters are turning against him, as they call for the 79-year-old to be removed as US president, amid the ongoing Iran war.
The divisive leader is facing an increasing amount of criticism over his escalating threats against the Middle East state, the most recent of which saw him threatening ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight,’ over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow but crucial waterway, which transports around 20% of the world’s oil and gas, remains at the center of the ongoing conflict after Iran partially closed the strait in response to the US and Israel’s co-ordinated strikes.
Trump recently took to his Truth Social platform, threatening to wipe out the entire civilisation of Iran, ‘never to be brought back again,’ if the state fails to reopen the waterway, as global energy markets feel the impact of the dispute.
“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he continued, adding: “However, now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, smarter, and less radicalised minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, who knows? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world.”
Trump concluded: “God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Trump’s former allies turning against him
Since his alarming statement, a number of right-wing former allies have spoken out against Trump, calling for a never seen before rule to be used to remove him from office.
One outspoken critic is conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, once a long-standing supporter of Trump, who agreed the president has ‘lost his mind.’
Taking to X, Jones posted a video in which he said Trump’s comments were ‘the definition of genocide.’
“Not a war,” he continued. “Not a defensive war but a literal bombardment, like martians, you know, attack us and we don’t have a defense.”
Former US representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, another former supporter of Trump, has joined calls for the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution to remove the president from his post.
“25TH AMENDMENT!!!” she wrote on X, adding: “Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”
Greene also responded to a concerning post, in which Trump appeared to mock Iran’s Islamic beliefs, writing: “Open the F***ing Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
In response, the businesswoman and conspiracy theorist suggested that all the Christians in the Trump administration need to ‘fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the president and intervene in Trump’s madness.’
“I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are implicit,” she continued on X.
How does the 25th Amendment work
Critics are calling on Vice President JD Vance to invoke the 25th Amendment, which explains what happens if a president dies, resigns, is removed or becomes unable to do the job.
The law was previously used when John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, however it has never been used to remove a president from his post.
Section 4 of the Amendment refers to when a president is unable to work but won’t step down, and relies on the vice president and the majority of the cabinet to say the president is unable to carry out the job.
If JD Vance decided to invoke the Amendment, with the support of the cabinet, he would write a declaration to Congress, before immediately becoming acting president.
However, Trump would have the right to challenge the decision and Congress would then need to take a vote.
Calls for JD Vance to take over Iran negotiations
While Vance hasn’t spoken publicly about the possibility of removing Trump, he is known to be a skeptic of foreign military interventions following his own experience in a war zone.
The VP is a veteran of the Iraq War, having served in the US Marine Corps, including a six month stint in Iraq in 2005.
Many people believe this experience would make him the best leader to negotiate directly with Iran to bring the conflict to a close.
Iran’s leaders have also expressed a preference to deal directly with Vance, after Trump was accused of ‘negotiating with himself.’
