Lady Gaga on Why Trump Should Be Impeached Rather Than Removed by 25th Amendment

Lady Gaga joined her voice to the chorus of celebrities, politicians and others calling for the immediate removal of President Trump from office, but unlike many of them, she does have a preference as to how it happens.

The two most commonly cited methods to remove Trump in advance of President-elect Joe Biden’s January 20th inauguration are by impeachment or by invoking the 25th amendment.

Both would net the same result of seeing Trump forcibly removed from office before his term is up, but Gaga suggests she would only be satisfied by his removal via impeachment.

“I hope we focus to impeach Trump,” Gaga tweeted Thursday evening, explaining that this was her preferred method because it would give “Congress the constitutional authority to possibly disqualify him from further election.”

Adding that his removal via the 25th amendment would not disqualify him, Gaga further emphasized, “He incited domestic terror,” asking, “How much more violence needs to happen? This is terrorism.”

Her post came just a few hours after Donald Trump saw his Twitter account reactivated following a series of tweets that were deemed a potential danger amid the siege on the U.S. Capitol that took place throughout much of the afternoon on Wednesday.

Trump’s account was reactivated only after he’d removed those tweets, and upon his return to the platform, he shared a video where he formally condemned the violence from the prior day and acknowledged that a new administration would be taking over on January 20.

Trump further promised a “smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power,” without ever technically conceding his loss to President-elect Joe Biden.

Nevertheless, it was a tone starkly different than that in the weeks since the election, and even on the day of the siege at the U.S. Capitol, where Trump spoke to his followers at what he was calling a “Stop the Steal” rally.

There, he reiterated that he would never concede because the election had been stolen — though he’s yet to present any evidence that has held up in any court of law to back this claim.

Even during the riots that have killed five people, Trump was sending mixed messages. He told protesters to “go home in peace” at the same time he was saying, “We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election, and everyone knows it, especially the other side,” and telling rioters, “We love you,” and calling them “very special.”

Trump was previously impeached in December 2019 but ultimately acquitted by the Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that articles of impeachment would be drawn up if the 25th amendment is not invoked, but it is unlikely to lead to his removal before January 20th, even were it successful. For one thing, the Senate is out of session until after the inauguration.

Further, Vice President Mike Pence has already expressed he has no interest in exploring the 25th amendment, which needs agreement by the majority of the cabinet.

Since the riots, two of Trump’s Cabinet members have already resigned, with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos following Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao out the door as a direct response to Trump’s actions both before and after the siege.

Obviously, they would have been more likely to support the 25th amendment than any who choose to stay, making it less and less likely such a move would even be successful should it be considered.

And finally, Biden has made it clear that he would rather focus his attention on his upcoming inauguration and the business of taking over the White House amid a global pandemic and economic crisis than trying to get Trump out of office within the next 12 days.

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