Perspective from the 19th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie. And it is where you want to be on a golf course.
Whatever you think of California Governor Gavin Newsom, he made a logical plea yesterday.
Regarding Donald Trump, Newsome said it’s time to enact the 25th amendment, a constitutional provision that establishes procedures for declaring that a president is unable to perform the duties of the top political job.
Based on reporting from Time Magazine and other credible news outlets, Newsom issued his plea after Trump made remarks Monday suggesting an attack by Iran on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego would be “a small price to pay.”
From Time:
“Newsom has referred to the 25th Amendment before, alongside other lawmakers and critics, who have suggested that, among other things, Trump’s struggle to find an off-ramp for the war he started with Iran in February — and his expressions of willingness to let civilians in Iran and the U.S. die en masse — suggest that he is unfit to hold office.”
Is Newsom’s plea just more political grandstanding from a governor widely seen as a potential Democrat presidential candidate in the 2028 election?
Yes, at least in part.
But, given Trump’s record – not caring about lives he condemns to death in war or his fight against immigrants – it strikes me that Newsom has a good point.
More from Time:
“In separate posts across multiple social media accounts following Trump’s Monday remark, Newsom warned that the president’s comment was not only ‘madness’ but also ‘dangerous’ and ‘deranged.’ Speaking to journalist Jim Acosta, Newsom argued that the statement puts over 130,000 active-duty military personnel stationed in San Diego at risk: ‘Don’t think for a second our adversaries aren’t listening to that.’
“Newsom also claimed that Trump’s remark could be ‘treasonous.’ He posted that the president’s statements make one of the U.S.’s largest naval hubs a potential target and that he directed California’s State Threat Assessment Center ‘to actively monitor the situation in the event that foreign actors interpret the President’s remarks as an invitation to target the state.’”
The White House responded by defending Trump.
Will action on the 25th amendment come to pass? The best answer is no, if only because Congress, at least the current one and perhaps the next one would not go along.
But it is worth reflecting on the actions and words of the president which strike many as indicating that he is mentally ill and thus unfit to hold the office he holds. Which means that we will have to find a way to survive the next two years.
