Democrats frequently discuss impeachment and the 25th Amendment concerning President Donald Trump. Plans for his impeachment were in place even before he assumed office in 2017. They spent years labeling him as insane, featuring questionable professionals on left-leaning media channels, and asserting that he was unstable. Therefore, the current effort to pursue both impeachment and the 25th Amendment is nothing new for them, but it’s becoming somewhat tiresome, even for CNN.
On Saturday, CNN’s Michael Smerconish delivered a strong criticism of the rhetoric used by Democrats and then methodically destroyed their common nonsensical claims that Trump is mentally unfit to serve as president. He began by recalling the now-infamous dinner that Bill Maher had with Trump at the White House last spring, which prompted a predictable backlash from the left, which included left-wing kook producer/actor Larry David mocking Maher in the New York Times with the headline “My Dinner with Adolf.”
“In a choice between two of my favorite comedians, I stood with Maher on [the] theory that it’s better to have dialogue and to break bread than to demonize,” Smerconish said. Maher had dinner, went right back on television, and kept up his criticism of the president.
As you know, it was Trump’s posts on Truth Social during the Iran conflict that ignited a response from the Democrats this past week, leading to discussions about impeachment and the 25th Amendment. The surprising outcome was that it worked; just 90 minutes before Trump’s deadline, Pakistan successfully negotiated a two-week ceasefire.
Funny how things unfold like that.
Smerconish then summarized a deep dive from the New York Times regarding the events leading up to Trump’s decision to bomb Iran:
While Benjamin Netanyahu pushed for action and initially aligned with Donald Trump, key U.S. officials pushed back hard. John Ratcliffe dismissed Israeli regime-change plans as unrealistic, Marco Rubio bluntly rejected them, and J.D. Vance emerged as the most vocal opponent of war.
But new intelligence created urgency, showing a rare opportunity to target Iran’s leadership. After failed diplomatic efforts led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump convened a final meeting, heard all sides, and weighed legal and military input.
With a deadline looming, Trump made the call just minutes before time expired, approving the strike and greenlighting “Operation Epic Fury.”
New intelligence revealed Iran’s leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would be exposed in a rare, vulnerable setting, prompting urgency inside the White House. Donald Trump still gave diplomacy one last shot, but after Witkoff and Kushner reported that Iran wasn’t negotiating in good faith, the focus shifted to action.
At a February 26 Situation Room meeting, Trump heard arguments from his team. Vance warned against a strike but deferred to the president, while Ratcliffe presented the intelligence, and legal and military officials confirmed the plan was viable.
With a deadline looming, Trump made the final call aboard Air Force One, approving “Operation Epic Fury” just 22 minutes before the cutoff.
Why did Smerconish bring this up?
“It shows airing of competing views, some open to dissent, reliance on legal counsel, and a deliberative process, not the impulsivity with which Trump is so often associated,” he said. “There’s nothing in the Times behind closed doors account of an unstable Trump at the same time that he was playing the madman card in public.”
The person discussing the decline of civilizations was actively listening to dissent, consulting lawyers, and making tough decisions under immense pressure. Smerconish put it cleanly: “It’s not that there’s a method to his madness, it’s that the madness is his method.”
Smerconish argued that the act is losing its effectiveness, suggesting that this is a debate worth discussing. He concluded that the New York Times report revealed the same insight that Bill Maher experienced during dinner: Trump is indeed capable of exactly what his critics claim he isn’t.
“Patience, process, and genuine deliberation. He went around the table. He heard the dissent. He consulted the lawyers; he made a hard call under enormous pressure. And 90 minutes before his own deadline, a ceasefire materialized.” He was direct: “That’s not nothing, and it’s certainly not the behavior of someone who needs the 25th amendment invoked or warrants impeaching.”
WATCH:
?NEW: CNN's Michael Smerconish *OBLITERATES* calls to remove Trump from office?
"You'd expect the guy that posts about a whole civilization dying would be simultaneously busting up the White House furniture — but there's NEVER been ANY reporting of Trump like that behind… pic.twitter.com/gA2bnbRcnj
— Jason Cohen ?? (@JasonJournoDC) April 11, 2026
Democrats have spend years trying to convince everyone Trump is off his rocker; a CNN host just demolished that fake narrative in a few minutes.
