Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

“Sick of mind”: ex-GOP senator says Trump must be removed before he can start nuclear war

A former Republican senator is calling on Congress to remove President Donald Trump from office because he believes Trump’s “sick psyche” dramatically increases the odds of nuclear war.

Gordon Humphrey, who represented New Hampshire for two terms in the US Senate from 1979 until 1990, published an open letter on Thursday urging his state’s congressional delegation to support the Oversight Commission on Presidential Capacity Act, which would create a commission to determine whether the president is mentally fit.

“Literally, [Trump] could get millions of people killed if he’s not restrained,” Humphrey said on MSNBC Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, Humphrey — who quit the GOP after Trump’s election — published a letter in the Concord Monitor arguing the same points:

Donald Trump is impaired by a seriously sick psyche. His sick mind and reckless conduct could consume the lives of millions. The threat of nuclear war is steeply on the rise.

You must not take comfort in the system of checks and balances. The president alone has the authority to launch nuclear weapons, the only restraint being the advice of senior advisers who might be present at the time of crisis, and Donald Trump has shown repeated contempt for informed and wise counsel. He is sick of mind, impetuous, arrogant, belligerent and dangerous.

Donald Trump should be relieved of the powers of the presidency at the earliest date. ...

Serious crises are bearing down on us.

We cannot leave our national security and our families’ safety in the hands of a president whose poor judgment, belligerence, vindictiveness and reckless impetuosity constitute an indictment of his mental health.

Donald Trump is seriously sick. He is dangerous. As a citizen, a former U.S. senator and 12-year member of the Armed Services Committee, I urge you to act once. This is an emergency.

On MSNBC, Humphrey also urged the US Cabinet and Vice President Mike Pence to consider using the 25th Amendment to expel Trump from office. Section 4 of that amendment allows the Cabinet and vice president to remove Trump if they determine he is “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”

“Congress and the Cabinet should be talking seriously about his fitness,” Humphrey told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, arguing Trump had brought America to the brink of nuclear war. “They’re saying behind scenes, ‘He’s crazy ... he’s delusional, he’s paranoid, he’s not a well man. He’s dangerous.’”

Trump has, so far, not responded.

See More:

More in Politics

Podcasts
The Supreme Court abortion pills case, explainedThe Supreme Court abortion pills case, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

How Louisiana brought mifepristone back to SCOTUS.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Politics
Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expectedTrump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected
Politics

As Trump heads to China, attention and resources are being shifted from Asia to yet another war in the Middle East.

By Joshua Keating
Politics
Are far-right politics just the new normal?Are far-right politics just the new normal?
Politics

Liberals are preparing for a longer war with right-wing populists than they once expected.

By Zack Beauchamp
The Logoff
Flavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA headFlavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA head
The Logoff

Why Marty Makary is out at the FDA, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters
Politics
Virginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymanderVirginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymander
Politics

Democrats just handed the Supreme Court’s Republicans a loaded weapon.

By Ian Millhiser
The Logoff
Can Trump lower gas prices?Can Trump lower gas prices?
The Logoff

What suspending the gas tax would mean for you, briefly explained.

By Cameron Peters