- John Brennan called for Trump's removal under the 25th Amendment due to instability
- The 25th Amendment allows the Vice President to assume power if the President is unfit
- Brennan cited Trump's threats against Iran as evidence of a danger to US military control
John Brennan, who was the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) throughout Barack Obama's presidency, has joined calls for the removal of US President Donald Trump from office, declaring that the US Constitution's 25th Amendment was drawn up with Trump specifically in mind.
The 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which Brennan invoked, deals with presidential succession and disability.
In an interview broadcast on American media house MS Now on Saturday, Brennan said the US President's recent remarks about the possible destruction of Iranian civilisation showed he was "clearly unhinged" and posed a danger to too many lives to remain commander-in-chief.
Brennan argued that Trump's control of the United States' military arsenal, including its nuclear weapons, made him an unacceptable liability. The former CIA director's intervention places him at the centre of a debate over Trump's decision to take America into conflict with Iran and over the increasingly violent tone of the president's public statements.
On April 7, Trump warned that Iran's "whole civilisation will die tonight" unless the Iranian regime met an ultimatum he had issued. Brennan told MS Now that the language suggested the possible use of nuclear weapons.
"This person is clearly unhinged," he said. "I think the 25th amendment was written with Donald Trump in mind."
The 25th Amendment states that the Vice President becomes President if the President dies, resigns or is removed from office through impeachment. It also sets out the procedure for filling a vacancy in the Vice-Presidency. Crucially, the amendment allows for the temporary transfer of presidential powers and duties to the Vice President.
The amendment was submitted to the states by the 89th Congress in 1965 and was ratified in 1967.
More than 70 Democratic members of the US Congress have already called for its invocation, according to the latest tally compiled by NBC News.
The practical prospects of such a move remain close to zero. US Vice President JD Vance and the entire cabinet have maintained a consistent and unbroken loyalty to Trump.
Peace talks between the United States and Iran collapsed on Saturday, leaving open the possibility of further military action.
Brennan himself is the target of an active criminal investigation by the Department of Justice. The inquiry forms part of what Brennan and others describe as a political vendetta by the president against his perceived opponents.
In July, at the urging of the White House, the US Justice Department opened investigations into both Brennan and James Comey, the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Two months later Comey was charged with two counts of lying to Congress in testimony he gave in 2020 about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
