Newsom's 25th Amendment Gambit Is a Confession of Democratic Failure

The specific charge is that Trump’s conduct is too erratic for the presidency, and that responsible leaders must use every constitutional tool available.

But consider the standard Newsom is invoking. The 25th Amendment is a serious, narrow mechanism designed for a president who is genuinely unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, not a tool for politicians who dislike an election result. Newsom knows that. He also knows that the amendment requires the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to agree, and that neither will happen.

So why say it?

Because it gives him a week of headlines on cable news while his own party tries to dodge the one issue that will decide the midterms: the southern border. While Newsom grandstands, his state of California remains a sanctuary for illegal immigration, shielding criminal aliens from federal enforcement and spending state funds on services for people who are here illegally.

That is not a tangent. It is the whole point.

The hypocrisy is glaring. When President Biden showed visible signs of decline during the 2024 campaign, Newsom was among his loudest defenders, insisting that age was not a fitness issue and that any talk of removal was a Republican fantasy. Now, with a Republican back in the White House, the same man who dismissed those concerns suddenly discovers the 25th Amendment.

The standard did not change. The occupant did.

Newsom’s defenders will say the two cases are different: Trump’s erratic statements about trade, foreign policy, and the justice system are qualitatively worse than Biden’s gaffes, and the 25th Amendment exists precisely for moments like this. But that defense collapses on contact.

The Constitution does not permit removal for bad tweets or aggressive tariffs. It permits removal for incapacity, and no Cabinet member is prepared to certify that Donald Trump cannot do the job. Newsom knows this, which means his call is not a constitutional argument. It is a political prop.

That is the real confession. Every time Democrats float the 25th Amendment, they hand Republicans a ready-made message: the left would rather overturn an election than govern. It energizes Trump’s base, demoralizes swing voters, and distracts from the border crisis that Newsom’s own party has refused to address for four years. If Gavin Newsom wanted to help his country, he would propose a single enforceable border policy.

Instead, he reaches for a gimmick that even his own allies know is dead on arrival. The midterms are coming, and the Democrats have learned nothing.