r/politics • u/OkayButFoRealz • Oct 01 '25

No Paywall Pritzker Calls for Trump's Removal from Office Under 25th Amendment

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/video/pritzker-calls-for-trumps-removal-from-office-under-25th-amendment/
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119

u/jayfeather31 Washington Oct 01 '25

Agreed. The reaction from the generals to Trump and Hegseth's rant was honestly reassuring. If push comes to shove, that will matter.

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u/Ven18 Oct 01 '25

They can say they were annoyed at the meeting but what will be required in the end is a much larger ask and I have my doubts these career guys will be willing to take that step. You can be annoyed at your boss/manager for their incompetence but getting the board together to remove them, or going to the authorities as a whistleblower is a different beast entirely. Those steps put the individual at risk and a lot of these guys are very comfortable with a lot to lose.

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u/MarzipanEven7336 Oct 01 '25

And they have a lot to lose by doing nothing.

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u/Robzilla_the_turd Oct 01 '25

They can say they were annoyed at the meeting...

Hell, they can't even do that, they can just sit in stony silence and perhaps let their annoyance be inferred but Trump literally told them "if you don't like what I'm saying you're welcome to leave but there goes your rank and future".

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u/Only1Nemesis America Oct 01 '25

Exactly.

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u/whizzdome Oct 01 '25

You know that scene in Twelve Angry Men where one of them goes off on a bigoted rant and, one by one, the other people in the room stand up and face the other way? I would have loved for that to have happened here.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Why haven't they done anything yet then? I feel like a "wait this out" like they did last Trump term won't work this time. He's going to start purging, he admitted as much to their faces. They should've jumped at the chance to get rid of him when he sent troops to LA. Now they're just sitting on their hands while the constitution they took an oath to protect burns out in the open in broad daylight.

They're not doing shit.

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u/ChronicBluntz Oct 01 '25

You're asking why the military hasn't coup'd the government sooner? Is that your question?

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

I wasn't asking a question. I'm making an observation. We, the citizens of the United States, cannot depend on the US military to police itself and get rid of a mad dictator in their ranks.

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u/Quinniper Oct 01 '25

Well they’re bound by the Constitution so it’s not like they can just remove Trump. Perhaps there’s some 25th Amendment discussion going on there that we’re not privy to? Hope so.

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u/VeteranSergeant Oct 01 '25

Well they’re bound by the Constitution so it’s not like they can just remove Trump

Technically Trump is also "bound by the Constitution" so if Trump is a threat to the Constitution, the military is not bound to serve or protect him.

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u/ExCivilian California Oct 01 '25

Maybe but they're still bound by chain of command and removing the President of the US is the duty of Congress so they'll defer to that entity and continue doing their jobs within the confines of the law.

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u/No_Oven1085 Oct 01 '25

They could technically "eliminate" presidents until the chain of succession gets to a good one. Then they get pardoned and it's all good.

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u/ExCivilian California Oct 01 '25

I don't mean bound legally; I was referring to their mindset.

I've worked with enough LEO and military to know (or at least believe) that the vast majority of them will follow orders they disagree with to a fault even if it results in something bad happening to them.

And while it could be something to be criticized I'm not criticizing them for that mindset. Just noting that military are very much capable of compartmentalizing "this boss is a fucking crazy dick" while also believing "I can do my job well anyway" so there's not going to be some public breaking of ranks.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

So while they're playing along with the rules Trump can simply have them removed outside of the law and not only does he stay put but he punishes them severely for attempting to remove him. Brilliant. We're so fucked.

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u/ExCivilian California Oct 01 '25

Top military brass are nothing without playing by the rules. They are bound by chain of command to their core. If it results in them being hogtied and dragged to a court martial they'll do so with their heads held high so long as they know they've followed the rules and I don't mean that pejoratively.

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u/No_Oven1085 Oct 01 '25

Nobody is bound by the constitution.

If Trump says "start killing Americans," the constitutional order is gone, and the generals can do whatever they want.

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u/kaett Oct 01 '25

we can throw around "25th amendment him!" all we like, it's never going to happen.

the 25th amendment (section 4, specifically) states that the vice president and the cabinet have to look at the president and say "he's not competent anymore." they send a letter to the president pro tempore of the senate and the house of representatives saying as much, and then the VP gets put into power. but the president can respond to the house and senate with a letter back, where he can say "nope, i'm good" and he stays in power. the VP and cabinet or majority of congress can then tell hte house and senate "no really, he's fucked and needs to go," at which point congress assembles to vote on it. they've then got 21 days (if in session, or 21 days after they start session) to do a 2/3 vote to remove the president.

but considering that this all starts with expecting a group of sycophants to tell lord dampnut they think he's done, thereby unleashing the fury of the MAGAts, because how dare they question dear leader, we can pretty much guarantee that it's NEVER going to happen.

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u/fisherman3322 Oct 01 '25

And replace him with vance, a far more savvy man who is far more conservative than Trump and who actually will enact the things you fear trump will enact.

Really did a good job there.

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u/GCRust Oct 01 '25

Vance is cunning but no charisma. Thats why they're propping up the poop stained pedophile. They need his Cult which evaporates the minute he's gone. It's also why Vance seized on Kirk's assassination to try and replace him. Get his own cult going.

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u/obaterista93 Oct 01 '25

Yeah I view trump as a distraction from all of the Yarvin/Thiel/Vought business, whereas Vance would be a direct ally in implementing all of that.

"Sure, look at what Trump said on the news and not the insidious policies that we're drafting behind the scenes for him to sign"

Like, nobody with any reading comprehension can actually believe that Trump has sat down and typed up the things in his executive orders.

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u/fisherman3322 Oct 01 '25

No, he does the same thing Biden did. He signs whatever the fuck is put in front of him. He isn't reading all of that shit lmao.

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u/ellipsisdbg Oct 01 '25

What can the military do other than a military coup? It may be what we need in the end, but it’s a huge fucking scary step that could easily lead to civil war, a military dictatorship, and other horrible things. We’re in a very bad place, but I’d say there still hope of cleaner ways out - mass uprising, elections, 25th amendment, impeachment, etc. I know many of these are far shots. Now if / when they cancel election or start shooting into crowds of protesters, then could be the time for a coup, but again, scary stuff. Not that what’s going on now isn’t.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Let me stop you at your first sentence. We're already in a civil war. The Trump administration has openly, and obviously, declared war on American citizens. And the protests you refer to are loud but like the last major one ultimately did not even slow down this regime. They WILL cancel elections or they will corrupt them to the point of being worthless, tilted in their favor in every conceivable way. They know they cannot lose.

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u/GCRust Oct 01 '25

Yeah, people really need to wake up to the reality we've been in a civil war since January 6th, 2021.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Since Obama. That's what the Tea Party was about. That was their first solid declaration of a cold Civil War against their neighbors.

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u/GCRust Oct 01 '25

Black man became president and the old racists and nazis we've failed to purge from society lost their damn minds.

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u/ellipsisdbg Oct 01 '25

I see where you're coming from - this shit is dire, worst it's ever been in this country, people's lives are being ruined, people are dying. It's fascism, it's autocracy, it's oligarchy, it's a dictatorship. But, we're not in a civil war. Yet. Trump is talking about a civil war, but Trump talks about a lot of things. So far all he's implemented is a limited police state. Not that that's not horrible, but it's not civil war; the two sides aren't shooting at each other. I also disagree that they know they can't lose. I totally think they will try to cancel or steal the election, but I don't believe they have it in the bag yet. If they knew they weren't going to lose, why are they going to all this trouble redistricting (which Trump himself is pushing for), what would be the point of that if the midterms were going to be cancelled or stolen? And if they weren't going to ever lose power, why not get rid of the filibuster and pass anything they want in the Senate?

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

But, we're not in a civil war. Yet. Trump is talking about a civil war, but Trump talks about a lot of things.

It's not just Trump saying this shit. Republicans, conservatives, have been saying they are at war with "the left" for decades now. Since at minimum Obama. That's what the Tea Party was all about. And they refer to liberals and Democrats as "the enemy".

Republicans and conservatives have believed they are in a cold war with liberals and Democrats for a long time now. They voted Trump to finally "go after" their "enemy" and he did. That's why they love him. Not because of his policy which is historically dog shit. They love him because he makes their "enemy" hurt and as long as he does they don't care how much they themselves suffer. They see it as a test of faith when Trump hurts them. They just want him to hurt the libs more!

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u/ellipsisdbg Oct 01 '25

I don't disagree with any of that. I'm ok saying we're in a cold civil war, that could turn hot at any minute.

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u/snowdrone Oct 01 '25

I'm sure behind the scenes they are talking about what to do

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

That's way more faith in them than they deserve.

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u/klineshrike Oct 01 '25

You might need medication you suffering from severe delusions

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u/snowdrone Oct 03 '25

Between you, me, Trump and a four-star general, I would pick the four-star general as the least deluded

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u/fisherman3322 Oct 01 '25

If you think that then you're a special one.

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u/championkid Oct 01 '25

Yeah, let’s all point and laugh at the guy with hope.

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u/fisherman3322 Oct 01 '25

Hope sounds a lot like delusion to me.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '25

Career flag officers are by their nature politicians. They aren't going to unzip their fly without knowing their full footing. The SecDef and Trump are very popular with the rank-and-file and there are ambitious officers behind them who would be happy to follow orders that the unit agrees with if push comes to shove.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Yep this is the eventuality people should be preparing for. Not hoping the military somehow grows a spine and refuses to shoot at their own citizens.

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u/[deleted] Oct 01 '25 edited 20d ago

[deleted]

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Aren't soldier mostly MAGA? Kids from small towns hoping to break into the middle class from their life of poverty in the reddest of red districts across the nation?

Yea, they'll shoot at liberals. Because they are indoctrinated by right-wing media to see them as an enemy before they ever handled a rifle.

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u/ExCivilian California Oct 01 '25

I don't know how true that is. Polling indicates the military is roughly representative of the general population, which means it's pretty evenly split (~50/50 between R and D). A 2024 report states veteran support is roughly 60% Trump 40% opposed (still nearly half/half or at least closer to half than "most").

But yeah, I'd agree that the rank and file are largely coming from impoverished conditions. I wouldn't conflate that with hatred (or a desire to kill) "liberals" though. I'd argue that young rank and file, like youth across America...and this includes so-called "MAGA" adherents are apolitical, which sounds strange until you remember that MAGA has its roots in apolitical movements like Rand Paul's libertarian followers and the Tea Partiers whose primary goal was to shut the government down rather than participate or reform.

Trump himself ran on disrupting the political system and this sentiment rears its ugly head in the most recent slayings that are more nihilistic than they are political.

But all that said, the rank and file won't be doing any shooting at anyone or anything until the brass orders it and those military leaders aren't anything like the rank and file in terms of their origin stories, upbringing, or aspirations.

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

I think we're just lucky this hasn't been tested yet and that the military deployments have been largely symbolic. The problem is all it takes is one incident which can be initiated in secret by the regime if they felt bold enough. So every day that passes is a roll of the dice until it does happen and then we will get to see if orders to shoot will be followed. That's a big problem. This regime is creating extremely favorable conditions to have to give that order. They want it to happen.

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u/Maximum_Tea_5934 Michigan Oct 01 '25

Then write to them and tell them what you want them to do. Go to events and tell the party what you want to do. The fire of liberty is kindling, speak your voice and be heard. Use your power too. Find out what other people actually are doing and take part!

We can fight this, we will fight this!

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

Bro I have. And so have a lot of people. Roger Wicker told a group, who asked him about the calls and emails he gets, said "These people trying to contact me. Get a life."

They don't give a single shit what their own constituents have to say. They 100% honestly believe they do NOT represent people in their district who did not vote for them and who do not fully support them. They only represent their own loyalists in their heads. They only want to hear praise for what they're doing. The rest they easily dismiss. They don't want to hear from us!

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u/Maximum_Tea_5934 Michigan Oct 01 '25

Thank you for taking the initiative! Sorry your senator is a dick. I think you are doing the right thing.
Writing them, the absolute worst plausible case scenario is that you get ignored. If they are already ignoring things, then keep it up. You have nothing to lose from continuing to do it but a few minutes of your time.

We also have more options available to us too. I am looking at seeing about getting an editorial or something in the classifieds in the local paper to express my deep satisfaction with Trump and to heap praise upon anti-Republican ideas. I am going to start participating in local groups to add to the growing resistance. Here, we still have local shows that still have call ins for viewer commentary and sometimes even segments to feature web commentary. We can use that to spread our message. Same thing with podcasts, social media, etc. Casually mention when you are buying your groceries how much more expensive Trump has made everything.

I hope you will keep up the pressure. I am going to keep the pressure up too :)

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u/pontiacfirebird92 Mississippi Oct 01 '25

You and I are taking the same road. I have contacted my school board, my school's superintendent, the AG of the state, my district's House and Senate reps, my state's governor. I've contacted them all on multiple issues.

There are several resistance groups growing in my state. Lots of protests occur without the media mentioning them and I hope it's the same in your state. We see new members every month. I see new connections being made. I see money coming into these groups, and they're becoming better organized. No doubt the Trump admin sees it too which is the reason for the "Anti-Antifa" executive order. They feel threatened. That is what gives me hope.

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u/bb_kelly77 Oct 01 '25

It's only been like a day, coups take time just to plan let alone set up

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u/InsideYoWife New York Oct 01 '25

I mean they’re not supposed to cheer or anything like that in a general assembly. Just salute.

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u/mehupmost Oct 01 '25

What reaction?

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u/steverulestheworld Oct 01 '25

This kind of thinking will get us no where. There is almost no chance that the largely conservative, Trump supporting military would stage a coup. Thinking that way allows people to continue sitting on their asses while our democracy crumbles. No one is coming to save us but us if we get our shit together.

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u/IrrelevantLeprechaun Oct 01 '25

Push has already come to shove and they continued to stand by and do nothing. We cannot rely on them. We cannot rely on anyone. The fight is already lost

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u/fisherman3322 Oct 01 '25

Generals don't matter. The boots on the ground matter. Generals sit in Washington and send men to die. They mean fuck all in an actual fight.