Donald Trump Wants Joe Biden Removed From the White House

Former President Donald Trump called for the removal of President Joe Biden under the 25th Amendment after reports that federal agents who executed a raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in August 2022 were prepared to use "deadly force" if needed.

Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon that after leaving the courtroom in his criminal hush money trial in Manhattan, he "was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden's DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE."

Guidelines for the raid, which led to the seizure of hundreds of classified documents and eventually criminal charges against Trump, were portrayed in a court filing unsealed on Tuesday, which read in part that officers "of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary."

"NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY," Trump added. "HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE—25TH AMENDMENT!"

Newsweek approached the White House for comment via email.

The Context

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 40 felony charges, accused of failing to return classified materials to federal authorities after taking the documents from the White House. The case is being handled in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The document unsealed on Tuesday was a motion filed by Trump attorney Christopher Kise in February that questioned the legality of the FBI raid. The filing also claimed that federal law enforcement violated Trump's "attorney-client privilege" when obtaining some of the documents kept at Mar-a-Lago.

FBI agents who conducted the raid were ordered to wear unmarked polos and planned to bring "standard issue weapons, ammo, handcuffs and medium and large sized bolt cutters," the court filing read, which cited an "Operation Order" that was produced during discovery.

What We Know

Trump is not the first person to call for Biden's removal by invoking the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which sets up procedures for replacing the president in the case of death, removal, resignation or incapacitation. A number of Republicans have declared Biden "unfit" to hold office over concerns about his mental capacity and age, although experts have previously told Newsweek that there is little chance of action being taken against the president.

There were also talks of removing Trump under the 25th Amendment following the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol waged by his supporters. Some House Democrats pushed for then-Vice President Mike Pence and the White House Cabinet to remove Trump in the aftermath of the attacks.

The former president said at a public event in Texas on January 12, 2021, that the 25th Amendment "is at zero risk to me, but will come back to haunt Joe Biden and the Biden administration."

Views

Christina Bobb, former Trump lawyer who in 2022 signed off on a statement prior to the Mar-a-Lago raid that said all classified materials had been handed over to the FBI, reacted to reports of the unsealed documents over social media Tuesday evening, writing, "WTF?!! They were prepared to kill me?!"

"A few dozen FBI agents v. me and they were ready to kill me?!!!" Bobb wrote to X, formerly Twitter, while sharing a link to the New York Post's report. "What in the world happened to the United States of America?!"

Arizona Senate candidate and staunch Trump ally Kari Lake also reacted to reports about the FBI's "Operation Order" in the raid, writing on X, "The sicko Biden FBI were ready to use deadly force during the Mar-a-Lago BS raid. That tells you everything you need to know about this criminal Biden admin."

According to Frank Figliuzzi, retired assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, all operation orders for the bureau contain "a reminder of FBI deadly force policy."

"Even for a search warrant," Figliuzzi posted to X. "Deadly force is always authorized if the required threat presents itself."

Newsweek reached out to the FBI via email for additional comment Tuesday evening.

What's Next

Trump and Biden, the presumptive 2024 presidential nominees for their respective political parties, are scheduled to face off in two debates in the coming months. Many preliminary polls have shown the race for the White House to be a bit of a toss-up, although recent surveys compiled by RealClearPolling and FiveThirtyEight showed that Trump was narrowly ahead in a few key battleground states.

Update 05/21/24, 7:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.