A Plot to Block Trump From Office? 4 Stories You Need to Know Today

1. Kamala and Walz rally in Philly

After announcing her running mate on Tuesday, Vice-President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz appeared together for the first time before an energized crowd in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, the second-place contender on Kamala's shortlist for the ticket, opened with a 30-minute speech bashing Trump and praising Walz.

“I can’t wait for you, Philly, the rest of this commonwealth, and our entire country to get the chance to know the Walzes, the next vice-president and second lady of this nation,” he declared.

In his first public appearance since being tapped as Kamala’s running mate, Walz doubled down on his recent viral talking point that MAGA supporters are “just weird.”

“Donald Trump sees the world a little differently from us,” he said, eliciting boos from the 10,000-person crowd. “If Trump gets a chance to return, he’s gonna pick up exactly where he left off four years ago, only this time, it will be much, much worse.”

2. Pelosi proposes a new candidate for Mount Rushmore

Rumors abound that Nancy Pelosi may have helped push Joe Biden out of the 2024 race, but now, she’s pushing to add him to Mount Rushmore.

“You got Teddy Roosevelt up there, and he’s wonderful,” she gawked, omitting Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. “I don’t say take him down,” she continued, “but you can add Biden.”

Needless to say, right-wing “X” did not respond well to the proposal.

“Sorry Nancy,” wrote South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem on social media, “Mount Rushmore is not a place to celebrate someone who lied about his mental decline, willfully and knowingly endangered the lives of the American people, crushed American families, undermined the Constitution, and weakened our country at home and abroad.

Even the left-wing publication The Daily Beast called the former speaker’s proposition “wild” and “flippant.”

3. Trump assassination plot suspect arrested… nearly four weeks ago

Days after Donald Trump was nearly killed in an assassination attempt, reports broke that the United States had prior knowledge of an Iranian plot to kill the former president. Now, federal law enforcement officials have announced that they arrested a Pakistan national with ties to the Iranian plot the day before Trump was shot.

“[Asif Raza Merchant] orchestrated a plot to assassinate a politician or U.S. government officials on U.S. soil,” the Department of Justice reported. “In approximately April 2024, after spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme.” That individual quickly notified law enforcement about the would-be terrorist’s plan.

Through this contact, law enforcement learned that Merchant intended to hire hitmen to carry out his crimes. Federal agents, posing as contract killers, agreed to undertake the job for $5,000. They then arrested Merchant on July 12, one day before Trump was almost killed in what officials later deemed an unrelated incident. Reportedly, Merchant planned to flee the country on the same day he was apprehended.

Federal law enforcement did not reveal the arrest of a suspect in the Iranian plot until nearly four weeks after the shooting in Pennsylvania. While no connection between Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who targeted Trump, and Iran has been established, this new development adds complexity to an already intricate situation.

4. Block Trump from office?

Representative Jamie Raskin raised eyebrows when he suggested that Congress may have to block Trump from serving a second term if he’s elected again in November, admitting that Congress’s actions may result in civil war.

Blasting the Supreme Court for refusing to remove Trump from the ballot, the Maryland lawmaker remarked that “it’s going to be up to us [Congress] on January 6, 2025, to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he’s disqualified. And then we need bodyguards for everybody,” he added, “and civil war conditions all because the nine justices, not all of them, but these justices who have, not many cases to look at every year, not that much work to do, a huge staff, great protection, simply do not want to do their job and interpret what the great 14th Amendment means.”

The 14th Amendment dictates that “no person” who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States shall hold “any office, civil or military.” According to Raskin, this should apply to Trump due to his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, an argument the Supreme Court unanimously rejected earlier this year.

“Even if voters unquestionably elect Donald Trump as President, no matter the margin, and even if the election is universally accepted as free and fair, top Democrats are calling on Congress to block certification of the results, and prep for civil war,” cautioned Raskin’s former colleague from Congress, Lee Zelda.