President Donald Trump’s sleepy appearance during an Oval Office event on Thursday has sparked calls to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.
Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari is among those calling for the process to remove the 79-year-old from the White House on the grounds that he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.”
Trump, who is on course to become the oldest sitting U.S. president in history, was heavily slumped in his chair with his eyes closed on Thursday as several of his aides, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, discussed a coal initiative.
“Donald Trump fell asleep multiple times in the Oval Office today. AGAIN,” Ansari posted on X. “That’s why I’ve called for the 25th Amendment, and dozens of my colleagues have done the same. Donald Trump is unwell and must be removed from office. It’s a national security crisis.”
Trump has a habit of nodding off at public events, including in the White House. The 79-year-old president, whose health issues have long been covered by the Daily Beast, also routinely stays up late at night posting on Truth Social.
Under the 25th Amendment, a sitting president can be removed from office if the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet notify Congress that they believe the president is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
However, such an attempt to remove Trump is unlikely to succeed, as it would require a two-thirds majority in both the GOP-controlled House and Senate.
Despite the long-shot chances of success, others have also called for Trump’s removal from office because he frequently appears to doze off while carrying out his duties.
“Trump is passed out in the Oval Office right now,” Democratic political commentator Harry Sisson posted while sharing a clip of Trump with his eyes closed. “25TH AMENDMENT NOW!”
The Republicans Against Trump account added to its one million X followers: “Not AI. Trump fell asleep again during a public event in the Oval Office today. He now falls asleep at virtually every public event where he’s seated. We can only imagine what happens when the cameras aren’t there.
“The president is clearly unwell. 25th Amendment now.”
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said, “Lightweight Yassamin Ansari is a stupid person’s idea of a smart person.
“President Trump’s sharpness, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in stark contrast to what we saw during the last administration when Democrats like Raskin intentionally covered up Joe Biden’s serious mental and physical decline from the American people.”
Other health concerns surrounding the president include the frequent bruising on his hands, which he attempts to cover up with blotches of mismatched makeup.
Trump, who visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his third medical checkup in just over a year last month, also frequently boasts that he “aces” cognitive tests and claims they are proof of his “extreme intelligence.”
Neither the president nor the White House has explained why he needs to take so many such exams, which screen for early signs of dementia and often include tasks such as drawing a clock to show a specific time or identifying animals.
