There is only one solution to wrecking-ball crazy: Remove Trump
Three weeks into the second Trump administration, one thing is clear: To limit chaos both domestically and internationally, the wrecking ball-in-chief must be removed from the Oval Office.
Democratic legislators should start building the case for removal of Trump, developing their arguments in each district and in each state, and engaging their Republican counterparts in ongoing conversations about the future of the country.
The sooner the Democrats start working in unison to achieve the goal of removing Trump, the sooner the ship of state will be stabilized and the sooner Trump's and Elon Musk's destruction derby will be stopped.
Trump and Elon Musk are moving at lightning speed to carry out a coup d’état, an autogolpe, an unconstitutional seizure of power by an elected president. This has been a common phenomenon in Latin America and other countries. Now it has come to the United Stares.
To meet this threat, Democrats must also move at lightning speed.
More than democracy and the rule of law in the United States are at stake.
The very shape and mission of government are in question, from Social Security to the EPA.
The question facing Democrats is how much more destruction will theyvallow to take place before they wake up and mobilize to act in unison tn remove the President from office.
We argued on January 29 that it is not too soon to speak of 47's removal.
Is it too soon to speak of removing 47?
It is never too soon to think of the steps that might be necessary to defend our democracy. We are talking about a president who has already led an attempted coup d’état. He is not entitled to a presumption he will act legally or in good faith.
A prudent course would be for the Democrats to start gathering the evidence and building the case for 47’s removal. Then, as each new outrage adds elements to their brief, they should be engaging their Republican counterparts in conversation.
We have seen enough of Evon Musk’s efforts to seize control of the Executive branch and its computer systems and information. We have seen enough of Trump and Musk’s reckless disregard for human life with their plans to dismantle USAID and its lethal consequences for USAID beneficiaries.
These are two heartless men who are hell bent on the destruction of current government programs and the democratic institutions and traditions we have built up over the last 250 years.
Are we to roll over and acquiesce in their destruction derby?
Are we powerless to resist their attacks on our democracy?
The Supreme Court has granted Trump virtual immunity for his “official acts” while in office, in U.S. v. Trump (2024).
But they have not granted immunity to Elon Musk, who may be criminally prosecuted for his many actions aimed at overthrowing the Constitutional order and the rule of law in the United States.
Musk should be prosecuted as soon as the Democrats regain the presidency and control over the Justice Department, if not sooner.
Removal of Trump from office is not beyond the realm of possibility.
Democrats are likely to win the House of Representatives in 2026. They could then immediately begin impeachment proceedings. If they have been building the case beginning now, as we have suggested, they will be in a position to act quickly.
As Trump’s “high crimes and misdemeanors”—which include Musk’s actions—mount, the day may come when their Republican colleagues’ fear of a lame duck president diminishes, and they start thinking about the future, their own future, and even national security and the national interest.
That day could conceivably come sooner rather than later.
Of course, Vice-President J.D. Vance represents a considerable risk himself. He seems to be guided mainly by extreme personal ambition. But while he appears totally unprincipled, to date he does seem to be rational. Whether he aspires to be a dictator or not is unknown. His logical goal would be to win the presidency in 2028.
Is it too soon to be speaking about the removal of 47?
As non-Nazi Germans who lived through the first months of 1933 could attest, it is better to be too soon than to be too late. As they did in Germany in January, February, and March1933, events can succeed one another very quickly in some circumstances.
There is always the possibility of an extraordinary, unforeseen event.
Like a Reichstag fire.
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James Rowles is a former Lecturer on Law at Harv Law School and professor of international law at other universities.
He studied the history of Nazi Germany at Stanford, and has studied and worked on human rights, judicial reform, and access to justice projects in many countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and in Afghanistan and Russia. At Harvard Law School, he taught a course on “Law, Human Rights, and the Struggle for Democracy in Latin America”.
At the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the OAS, he worked on human rights cases involving forced disappearances, executions, and torture in a number of authoritarian countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Recent Books by the Author
James P. Rowles, The Rape of American Democracy: Republican Actions and Democratic Failures, 2016-2021 (2024). Available on Amazon, and from IngramSpark by clicking on a link here.
James P. Rowles, Don’t Be Stupid. Pay Attention, Damn It! Advice for Undecided Voters and Voters Leaning Toward Trump (2024). Available on Amazon,and from IngramSpark by clicking on a link here.
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