Donald Trump has threatened to annihilate “a whole civilization” if Iran does not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday at 8 p.m.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he wrote on Truth Social. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”
House Democratic leadership has said in a statement that Trump is “unhinged” and called for the House to reconvene for a vote to end the war.
Iran has been resolute in its responses to Trump’s late night social media threats.
“Deadlines shouldn’t cause us to have the slightest doubt in defending our country,” said Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei. Another foreign minister noted that Iran would retaliate in a way that would cause regret to the United States.
Overnight, the United States struck Kharg Island, the core of Iran’s oil economy.
The strikes hit military targets and bunkers, but did not hit the oil infrastructure, according to The Washington Post. The strike reportedly hit areas the U.S. had already struck earlier in the war.
Meanwhile, many members of Congress, a former congressperson and other organizations are calling for the president’s removal amidst comments that have been interpreted as his intention to wage genocide on the Iranian people. Former GOP congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene and the NAACP have called for Trump to be removed through the 25th Amendment.
“This president is unfit, unwell, and unhinged,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “The rhetoric and behavior we are witnessing from Trump isn’t just alarming, it’s dangerous. When the person entrusted with the highest office in the land demonstrates a disregard for truth, stability, and the well-being of the American people, it’s a threat to the entire nation and the world. Trump must be immediately removed from office.”
The 25th Amendment outlines the procedures for filling vacancies, and Section 4 of the amendment notes that the vice president and a majority of the cabinet can declare the president unfit to discharge his duties.
Chris Murphy, D-Conn., responded to Trump’s Easter Day post about his intentions to make sure the Iranian people will be “living in Hell” by suggesting his Cabinet research the 25th Amendment. He buttressed this response in a Substack post on Monday.
“I wasn’t kidding when I responded to Trump’s Easter morning tweet that his Cabinet should start researching the 25th Amendment. It is possible he has come unglued in the face of a war he cannot win – a war that could be the world’s economic undoing and his political unraveling. The people around him – those that enable him – should stop him from committing these war crimes. And we should speak up loudly to make sure they do,” he wrote.
