A defiant President Trump said Tuesday that the 25th Amendment is no threat to his removal from office but predicted it will “come back to haunt” incoming President-elect Joseph R. Biden.
“As the expression goes, be careful what you wish for,” Mr. Trump said on a visit to the border in Texas. “Free speech is under assault like never before. The 25th Amendment is of zero risk to me, but it will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration.”
House Democrats are pushing a proposal on Tuesday calling on the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office for allegedly inciting the deadly assault by his supporters on the Capitol last week. Lawmakers are also moving to impeach Mr. Trump on Wednesday for a second time.
The president predicted a furious political backlash against the impeachment effort.
“The impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witch hunt in the history of our country, and is causing tremendous anger and division and pain, far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time,” Mr. Trump said.
In his most direct comments on the attack at the Capitol, Mr. Trump said, “Millions of our citizens watched on Wednesday as a mob stormed the Capitol and trashed the halls of government. As I have consistently said throughout my administration, we believe in respecting America’s history and traditions, not tearing them down.”
“We believe in the rule of law, not in violence or rioting,” Mr. Trump said. “Now is the time for our nation to heal. And it’s time for peace and for calm.”
He said respect for law enforcement officers “is the foundation of the ‘MAGA’ agenda.”
“And we’re a nation of laws and we’re a nation of order,” Mr. Trump said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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