Senior Trump aides ‘spoke of removing him from power’

President demands change in libel laws after exposé says staff called him an ‘idiot’ in ‘crazytown’

MEMBERS of Donald Trump’s cabinet were so worried by the president’s erratic and impulsive behaviour they discussed removing him from power, according to a senior official in his administration.

The 25th amendment is designed to be used in the case of an incapacitated commander-in-chief and yesterday an explosive account published in The New York Times revealed senior figures considered deploying it.

“Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president,” writes the author, described only as a “senior administration official” by the paper, “but no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis.” Instead senior figures were working to thwart the president’s more “misguided impulses”, according to the account.

Mr Trump responded, saying it was a “disgrace”, written by someone who was “probably failing, and probably here for all the wrong reasons”.

He added: “Anonymous. Can you believe it? Anonymous. Meaning gutless. A gutless editorial.”

The claim follows revelations in Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear: Trump in the White House, that officials had snatched papers from the president’s desk to stop him signing off what they believe to be dangerous proposals.

It also corroborates earlier accounts of a chaotic White House, where decision making followed erratic impulses. It claims John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, disparaged Mr Trump as an “idiot” and suggested the presidency was in “crazytown”. Jim Mattis, the defence secretary, reportedly told associates the president had the understanding of a “fifth or sixth-grader”.

Both denied having said any such thing. A string of other figures lined up to offer their own denials.

The article says: “Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.”

It describes a two-track system of government, in which Mr Trump prefers autocrats and dictators such as Vladimir Putin or Kim Jong-un while other departments follow more conventional policy.

“It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know

‘We fully recognise what is happening. We are trying to do what’s right, even when Mr Trump won’t ’

there are adults in the room,” it says. “We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”

Although many White House players have been cast as villains, privately they are working for the good of the country, it says. Not because they are part of a liberal “deep state” but because they are part of the “steady state”.

The latest accounts will heap further pressure on Mr Trump. Insiders say he is furious at the book and the barbs directed his way by senior aides. The White House was again forced on the defensive amid reports officials had struggled to get hold of the book.

“Isn’t it a shame that someone can … totally make up stories that are literally the exact opposite of fact,” wrote Mr Trump on Twitter.

“Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?”