Trump's Iran post triggers new calls for removal

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes."

There is much to be learned from experience, both good and bad, as Oscar Wilde once suggested.

We try something, analyse how it went and use it to (hopefully) better judge how to approach situations in the future.

This has, mostly, been the Democrats' approach during the second Trump administration.

The party has much to learn from: two failed impeachment efforts against Donald Trump, his re-election in 2024, and the loss of Congress that same year.

Until this week, part of that strategy has been a relative reluctance to engage in calls to remove Mr Trump from office.

This could be down to concerns about the partisan message it might send to voters in swing districts ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Most house Democrats had even voted with Republicans to block impeachment resolutions brought by Texas Rep Al Green.

Then came a Truth Social post from President Trump, in which he threatened a "whole civilisation" will die tonight, and after came a noticeable change in tone from Democrats.

"You can’t shout 'fire’ in a crowded theatre and a president cannot be allowed to threaten genocide with the United States military," Delaware Rep Sarah McBride wrote on X.

"Trump must go - and Republicans, whether in the Cabinet or Congress, must join Democrats in using any and all constitutional powers at our collective disposal to end this illegal war and take the gun out of this madman’s hands," she said.

Rep John Larson announced that he had filed articles of impeachment.

Michigan Representative Shri Thanedar took it a step further, sending a letter to Vice President JD Vance and cabinet members calling on them to invoke the 25th Amendment.

The amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to declare a president unfit to serve.

There is also no indication that anyone in Mr Trump’s cabinet is willing to defy the president.

Also, any such move would also require support from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress with the majority power currently lying with the GOP.

Rep Jamie Raskin told Axios that the Amendment allows Congress to appoint their own "body" to adjudicate the president's fitness for office, "in addition to calling on the Vice President and Cabinet to act responsibly, which is admittedly not an ideal solution."

He said: "The Constitution is not perfectly designed for an emergency like this, but the 25th Amendment is definitely the closest avenue we have for a federal response."

According to PBS, some congressional offices were "bombarded" with phone calls and emails this week, largely from people alarmed by the US president’s rhetoric.

Rep Suzan DelBene’s office received a "ton" of contact at the beginning of the week about removing Donald Trump from office.

Calls to remove president Mr Trump from office were not limited to Democrats. Even some voices on the right echoed that sentiment.

"How do we 25th Amendment his ass?" conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asked his guest on Monday’s show.

"25TH AMENDMENT!!!" former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, posted on X about an hour after Mr Trump’s post about Iran’s civilisation dying.

Ms Taylor Greene called it "evil and madness".

Loyal Trump ally in Congress, GOP Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, told the Wall Street Journal that Mr Trump "loses me if he attacks civilian targets" like infrastructure.

While Democrats do not have the numbers to proceed with any such action, whether the 25th Amendment or impeachment proceedings, it is clear that members of the party are getting bullish.

The Democrats are emboldened by a string of positive signs in recent elections and polling, along with a shift among some of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters.

However, even with some on the right embracing their calls for the US president to be removed from office, for now, the leadership still is not biting and reluctant to hop on this bandwagon.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on MS NOW’s "Morning Joe" on Thursday:

"Well, in terms of, you know, impeachment and things of that matter, we’ve said we’ve ruled nothing out and we’ve ruled nothing in, but we’re going to deal with what’s in front of us."

So while calls from the Democratic base to remove Mr Trump from office are being seen as a signal of a more confrontational mood, those at the top remain cautious and reluctant to make any sudden moves.

Leaders appear mindful of the lessons from Mr Trump’s first time in office and also being wary about not having the numbers to act.

However, that may all change in November, if predictions are anything to go by.