[ad_1]
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, warned that Donald Trump is suffering a “dissociation from reality” and said that on Friday Congress will discuss the constitutional potential to remove him from office.
The president, undergoing treatment for coronavirus in the White House, has unleashed an avalanche of erratic and self-contradictory tweets and statements in recent days that have left staff in trouble and raised concerns about their stability.
In a zigzagging interview on Fox Business on Thursday, the first since he was hospitalized, Trump, 74, boasted: “I am back because I am a perfect physical specimen and I am extremely young. And that’s why I’m lucky at that. “
Pelosi, who is negotiating a Covid-19 economic stimulus plan, responded in her weekly press conference: “The plan is not for the president to say that he is a perfect physical specimen. Specimen, maybe you can agree with that … And young man, he said he was young. “
Trump “is, let’s say, in an altered state right now” and “dissociation from reality would be fun if it weren’t so deadly,” added the 80-year-old speaker while wearing a mask.
In a surprise move, Pelosi revealed that Democrats will meet on Friday to discuss the 25th amendment to the constitution, which contains a clause that allows a president to be removed from office against his will for physical or mental incapacity.
“Tomorrow, by the way, tomorrow, come here tomorrow,” he told reporters. “We are going to talk about the 25th Amendment. But not to divert attention from the issue we have now. “
Pelosi declined to elaborate, but hinted the issue was related to the White House’s unwillingness to provide a timeline or say when Trump is believed to have been infected.
“I’m not going to talk about it today, except to tell you, if you want to talk about it, see you tomorrow,” he added. But if you take me back to my point, Mr. President, when was the last time you had a negative test before testing positive? Why isn’t the White House telling the country that important fact about how this made the White House a hotspot? “
The 25th amendment would allow Pelosi to create a panel to assess the president’s ability to perform his duties. But the House could not remove Trump from office without the agreement of Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Cabinet, who have given no indication that such a move is imminent.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives accused Trump last year of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he tried to pressure Ukraine for political favors. The Republican-controlled Senate did not condemn him.
Trump tweeted last Friday morning that he had tested positive for coronavirus, and that night he was flown to a military hospital. After a three-night stay, including a car trip to greet his supporters, he flew back to the White House and caused outrage by removing his mask.
He has received various treatments including doses of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, supplemental oxygen, a controversial experimental antibody treatment from US biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and dexamethasone, a steroid that some medical experts warn can cause insomnia and mood swings.
Pelosi said: ‘I have quoted others to say that there are those who say that when you take steroids and / or if you have had Covid-19 or both, there may be some impaired judgment. But again, that has to be determined by doctors and scientists, but it was very strange, really surprising. “
Trump has issued video messages and dozens of tweets that, even by the standards of his fickle presidency, have spun in all directions and sown disorder.
This week he abruptly announced that he was suspending talks with Pelosi on additional coronavirus economic relief legislation, surprising Republicans, only to then partially reverse his position. On Thursday he also suddenly declared that he would not participate in next week’s debate with Joe Biden, after it was announced Thursday morning that the event would be virtual, not in person.
And the president has returned to the Oval Office despite isolation rules that should have kept him away and the White House itself has become a hotbed for viruses. At least 20 people at or working near the executive mansion have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days.
In Trump’s hour-long interview with Fox Business on Thursday, observers found further cause for concern. He reflected that he could have contracted the virus from a reception he held for military families at the White House. “They want to hug me and they want to kiss me,” he said. “And they do, and frankly I’m not telling them to back off.”
He claimed that his hospitalization was unnecessary. “I didn’t have to go in, frankly; I think it would have gone away by itself. “And he made the false claim:” I don’t think it’s contagious at all. Remember this: when you catch it, you’ll feel better. And then you’re immune. ” This was after he left the hospital announcing that people should not fear Covid-19, even though it has already killed 212,000 people in the United States and caused many others, among the 7.6 million infected in the United States. United, they will suffer severe and sometimes prolonged symptoms.
And reacting to the vice-presidential debate on Wednesday, he called Democratic Senator Kamala Harris of California a “communist” and a “monster” who wants to “open up borders to allow murderers and rapists to enter our country.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the president tweeted a video of himself describing his contraction of the virus as a “blessing from God”.
Under the 25th Amendment, Pence would take over if Trump was deemed unfit to serve, and Pelosi would be next in line. Pence reported Thursday that he had tested negative for the coronavirus.
[ad_2]
