NANCY PELOSI has announced plans to create a commission to review the possibility of Donald Trump being removed from the office of the President.
The office of the House speaker confirmed the plans amid concerns Trump was suffering from a “disassociation from reality” in the wake of receiving treatment for coronavirus.
Pelosi’s announcement comes as the President continues to spark concern with a barrage of erratic tweets, written in capitals, that have raised concerns in some quarters.
He also posted a video describing his contracting of the virus that has killed 212,000 Americans as a “blessing from God”.
The President also did little to dissuade such concerns during an appearance in the Fox Business channel in which the 74-year-old declared: “I’m back because I am a perfect physical specimen and I’m extremely young. And so I’m lucky in that way.”
He also made the false claim: “I don’t think I am contagious at all. Remember this: when you catch it you get better. And then you’re immune.”
Speaking during her weekly press conference, Pelosi cited Trump’s remarks as a major cause for concern.
“The plan isn’t for the president to say that he’s a perfect physical specimen. Specimen, maybe I can agree with that ... And young, he said he was young.”
She described Trump as being in an “altered state” adding that “the disassociation from reality would be funny if it weren’t so deadly.”
Pelosi was particularly concerned by Trump’s decision to halt talks on a new coronavirus aid package for the US people, a decision announced in a “strange tweet” only to later partially reverse his stance.
She said the public needed to know when, exactly, Trump contracted Covid as the number of figures in and around the White House to have contracted the virus continues to rise.
Democrats are planning to enact the 25th amendment of the US constitution, which contains a clause allowing a president to be removed from office should they demonstrate physical or mental incapacity.
Pelosi is holding a discussion over the potential “introduction of the Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office Act”.
Trump reacted with anger to Pelosi’s claims, tweeting: “Crazy Nancy is the one who should be under observation. They don’t call her Crazy for nothing!”
He also retweeted several tweets from Republican allies, including the congressman Mark Green, who posted: “I wouldn’t put it past @SpeakerPelosi to stage a coup. She has already weaponized impeachment, what’s to keep her from weaponizing the 25th amendment? We need a new Speaker!”
The legislation allows for the creation of a panel to review the the president’s health and fitness for office.
However, the House of Representatives would still not be able to remove Trump from office without the agreement of the vice-president, Mike Pence, who would replace Trump and members of the cabinet.
Pelosi said: “I’ve quoted others to say that there are those who say that when you’re on steroids and/or if you’ve had Covid-19 or both – that there may be some impairment of judgment. But, again, that’s for the doctors and scientists to determine, but it was very strange, really surprising.”
