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When Donald Trump deplaned from Air Force One Tuesday, he walked down the steps and immediately hung a right, passing up a black SUV with a presidential seal and darkened windows that was flanked by Secret Service officers (video below). Somehow, it just didn't strike him as the immediate next step in his itinerary—that is until he was redirected back to the vehicle that had been staring him in the face moments earlier.
That episode coupled with his bizarre tweets last week targeting Morning Joe host Mika Brzezinski and depicting his WWF alter ego pummeling CNN has spurred renewed interest in legislation first introduced in April that would lay the groundwork for removing Trump from office. Some two dozen House Democrats have now signed on to Rep. Jamie Raskin's bill, writes CNN.
The Maryland Democrat wants to create an 11-member commission made up of mostly physicians and psychiatrists -- more formally called the "Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity." The panel would carry out a medical examination and determine whether the President was physically or mentally able to do the job.
Two of the commission's members would also be former high ranking officials, such as presidents, vice presidents, attorneys general or secretaries of state.
It's a provocative and long-shot effort, but Raskin is citing as his legal backup the 25th Amendment of the Constitution, which was adopted in 1967 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to establish procedure in the case a president is incapacitated.
Let's be clear: it's a long shot. The commission would have to act in concert with the vice president in order to remove the president if she or he were deemed "unable to discharge the powers and duties of office." The vice president would then assume the presidency.
But Trump's increasingly erratic behavior suggests that his mental capabilities are deteriorating before our very eyes. The Air Force One incident certainly wasn't an isolated case of the wanderer in chief. Trump has repeatedly wandered away from press conferences and bill signings, leaving a string of awkward moments in his wake.
Check them out below.
What SUV? Oh, that one.
With that guy over there, the one you were just sitting next to.
Wandering bill signer in chief (starts at about 1:50)