Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle wants assurances that the GOP will do to Trump what it insists Democrats should have done to Biden -- remove him from office when he shows signs of cognitive decline.
In a new opinion piece, McArdle argued that "a good deal of what [Trump] says is nonsense. But it’s mostly the same kind of nonsense he’s been spewing for years. That said, it’s reasonable to worry about Trump’s cognitive capacity."
As Trump ages, the odds of "creeping senility" will increase, McArdle wrote, and it will be up to Republicans to do something about it, not cover it up like the Democrats are accused of doing with Biden.
McArdle referenced Trump's own vow to "'absolutely' step down if his health deteriorated in office," but the country knows by now that the current president abhors even the appearance of weakness. Thus, it will be up to Republican leadership to step in if it becomes necessary.
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"So Republicans need to ask whether they’ll do any better than Democrats if the president shows signs of serious impairment," McArdle wrote. "It’s easy to proclaim what other families should do when it’s time to take Dad’s car keys away. But as generation after generation discovers, it’s also easy to put it off when it’s your dad who needs the intervention."
Of course, it will be hard to stand up to a man whose second term has been bent on inspiring fear and seeking retribution, McArdle admitted.
"The people surrounding the president also have a financial stake in his success — cross the boss and touch off an embarrassing intraparty fight, and you can say good-bye to your salary, your future consulting contracts and your speaking gigs," McArdle wrote.
But the good of the country must always take precedence "over partisanship, money and personal loyalties," she emphasized, and offered a challenge to Republican leadership: "If those are your true beliefs, will you pledge now to live up to them?"