President Donald Trump is in the metaphorical crosshairs of both Republicans and Democrats, with things seeming to go from bad to worse for the Commander-in-Chief. While it all started as a bit of 'fun' as President Trump went on his various Truth Social rants and seemed to let his stream of consciousness out onto the internet, there are vocal calls from both sides for him to be removed from office.
Sure, we all had a good laugh when Donald Trump appeared to post a private message to Pam Bondi on Truth Social, but after he decreed that a "whole civilization will die tonight" and threatened to obliterate Iran, there were the first rumbles that his increasingly volatile posts were a step too far.
This continued to bubble over, with an Easter Sunday post where he felt the wrath of the Catholic Church for giving praise to Allah, followed by the POTUS sharing an AI image that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ.
The President has also been rowing with Pope Leo XIV, and while he's since removed the Jesus picture, he maintains it was only because people were confused and is adamant it was portraying him as a 'doctor'.
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All of this has led to major moves from the Democrats, with genuine chatter that President Trump could be removed from power. While that still seems like a far-off scenario, could the president's digital footprint be his ultimate undoing? Although Trump has joked about his inability to turn on a laptop, he's pitched himself as the most tech-savvy president yet, with massive AI deals and even launching his own meme coin.
Could Donald Trump be removed from power by Section 4 of the 25th Amendment?
With Democrats rallying for the enactment of Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, many thought it was ludicrous to imagine it being used for the first time in the history of the United States.
We came close with the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981, while President Trump has already nearly been on the receiving end of Section 4 when he was accused of inciting the Capitol attack, and even members of his cabinet were said to be pushing Vice President Mike Pence to invoke its powers.
Led by Rep Jamie Raskin, House Democrats have now asked Congress to consider whether President Trump is fit to carry out his duties. It's over to a 17-person Commission to decide, and if they deem the president as unfit for office, Vice President JD Vance will then be asked if the POTUS is "mentally or physically unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office."
Calling out the president's recent actions, a defiant Raskin said: "Public trust in Donald Trump’s ability to meet the duties of his office has dropped to unprecedented lows as he threatens to destroy entire civilizations, unleashes chaos in the Middle East while violating Congressional war powers, aggressively insults the Pope of the Catholic Church and sends out artistic renderings online likening himself to Jesus Christ."
How could Donald Trump's digital footprint lose him the presidency?
At the crux of the Democrats' argument, they have to prove that the president is 'unfit' for office. Trump's digital footprint comes into this due to his increasingly controversial posts, as well as the official White House account's continued use of AI. The key part here is being able to prove that the president is unable to continue in his current position. If things escalate, forensic linguists could be used to compare his current output to historical posts, looking at whether there's a decline in vocabulary or increased repetition that might suggest cognitive decline. Back when Joe Biden was in office, there was plenty of chatter about his supposed cognitive decline, while these same arguments could bite the 79-year-old Trump on the backside.
Elsewhere, if the president is regularly posting in the early hours of the morning, it might be used to argue he's suffering from sleep deprivation or erratic behavior that's impairing his judgment.
Rapid-fire posting and major announcements being made without consulting the Cabinet, as well as impulsive attacks via social media could be used against him, while the idea that he's trying to 'scrub' posts like the AI Jesus is all likely to go against him.
Unlike the scandalous rumors that come from within the White House as a "he-said, she-said," Trump's digital footprint is a permanent and public reminder of evidence that his supporters will struggle to ignore.
Even though Donald Trump has been happy to embrace this new age of social media, and looks like he's been enjoying himself on Truth Social, the fact that he's the President of the United States means that every single thing he writes is more likely than ever to be put under the microscope as support for Section 4 mounts.