����Ӱ��AV

Donald Trump must leave the presidency. He must be impeached and convicted. Though there are many horrid and illegal actions he has taken, his removal is especially warranted by one.

This is not about fomenting an insurrection or retaining classified documents and lying to the FBI.

This is not about abusing presidential authority to enrich himself, his family, and his billionaire supporters.

This is not about the unconstitutional crackdown on free speech, be it protesters in the streets or Senator Kelly advising soldiers to disregard illegal orders.

This is not about weaponizing the Justice Department, ICE and CBP to attack the so-called “enemy within;" people who are not white or who speak a different language. “The worst of the worst” is a lie.

This is not about the illegal and unconstitutional execution of foreign nationals on the high seas under the false pretense of halting drug exportation into the United States.

This is not about the unlawful and unauthorized invasion to kidnap the president of Venezuela under the false pretense of drug charges. Venezuela may be better off without Maduro, but Trump’s contention that it was about drugs, and not oil, is a lie. The proof is his pardon of former Honduran president Hernández, convicted of egregious drug crimes.

Thankfully, Venezuela is not in NATO. Worldwide chaos could likely ensue were the United States to take military action against a NATO ally. That used to be absolutely unthinkable.

Not in Trump's world. He is openly and aggressively contemplating such action towards our NATO ally, Greenland.

He must be removed from office. Not if he strikes, but before he can strike.

Trump has never understood NATO. He has constantly criticized it, but he lacks the historical understanding that NATO has preserved overall world peace for nearly 80 years. There have been many regional conflicts, but largely thanks to NATO and strong American support, there has not been a Third World War. Not yet.

Should the US take hostile action against Greenland, NATO could be lost. As it is, Trump’s inexplicable threats against Greenland (and Canada, among other allied nations), are already grievously weakening the alliance.

And for what? Greenland, by treaty, welcomes American military bases, American investment, American development of natural resources. Greenland is amenable to enhancing American defensive capabilities on their soil. Trump’s claims that Russia and China are amassing warships off Greenland’s coast is an amateurish lie.

Greenland’s affiliation with Denmark provides collective defense via Article 5 of the NATO alliance. NATO, including the United States, stands between Greenland and any aggression from China or Russia. And NATO is why Denmark fought side by side with the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Many of Trump’s reckless and corrupt domestic actions can be undone once he is gone. His tearing down of age-old alliances will already be a Herculean task to rebuild. If he destroys NATO, there may never be a replacement, and the world becomes exponentially more dangerous. A large-scale conflict could escalate beyond conventional weapons. If WWIII is the result, be assured no one related to Trump will ever fight alongside your children and grandchildren.

Governing a free democracy is about learning from yesterday, managing today, and shaping tomorrow. Donald Trump knows everything already, so he does not learn. Beyond his own posterity (i.e. gilded ballroom), he has made it clear he is not thinking about the future. During the last shutdown he was enraged that Republican senators would not nuke the filibuster. Yes, he understood that Democrats will someday regain control of the Senate, but he argued, “we’re here right now.” The future is not about him, so it does not concern him.

If Republicans continue to silently wait and see what Trump does, it could be too late. GOP Congressman Don Bacon said he would “lean towards” impeachment if Trump attacks Greenland. Sorry, but that would be too little, much too late. Right now is the most sensible time! We must avail ourselves of the only mechanism our constitution provides to remove a corrupt, incompetent, and radically unstable president. The House must impeach, and the Senate must convict. Please contact your representatives.