On Thursday night, a presidential historian and biographer of President Donald Trump declared that the time has come for either the 25th Amendment or impeachment. Seth Abramson, who wrote a trilogy of bestselling books on corruption within the Trump administration, was responding to the president’s address and election denial rhetoric in general. The president, asserts Abramson, is intentionally stoking “violence.”
“The most sober, terrifying thing I can say as a Trump presidential historian is that what happened tonight was not about you, me, or America,” posted Abramson. “He’s going to do what he’s going to do based on how he convinces himself to do it. Nothing else matters. He’s not listening to anyone.”
Trump has revealed this kind of thinking before. In January, for example, when asked if there were limits to his global powers, he chimed, “My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
According to Abramson, Trump’s issues are deeper than political. As the biographer writes, “However it came to pass — childhood trauma, genetics, dementia — this U.S. president is now functionally a psychopath. He lives in his own reality. He converses only with himself. All America is now downstream from a madman who’s not listening to anyone or anything but his own madness.”
This is not the first time someone with expert knowledge of the president has suggested that he may have a severe cognitive or psychiatric disorder. Earlier in the year, Trump’s threats against Iran prompted calls for his removal, even from MAGA figures like Alex Jones, who asserted that the president had dementia and compared his behavior to the “madness of King George III.” Others, including doctors, have noted “mental glitches” and “red flags” signaling a major condition.
With all this in mind, Abramson argues the only solution is for Trump to be removed from office, but says that these outcomes are unlikely, writing, “The 25th was made for this moment. It won’t be used because Trump nominated cowards. Impeachment was made for this moment. It won’t be used because America elected cowards. The federal courts were made to stop this. They won’t because lifetime appointments reward cowardice.”
He argues that Trump is actively stoking political violence, posting, “Violence would destroy America and leave no winners. You’ll never see me support it but in self-defense. I think Trump is doing all he can to convince a large swath of America that violent rebellion is the only answer.” The president has escalated his calls for violence against his political opponents, painting them all (even the Pope) as “radical leftists” and “communists.”
“Why?” Abraham’s conclusion as to Trump’s ultimate goals is grim. “He wants to either kill half of us or burn everything.”