CNN host John Berman pressed Democratic New York Rep. Gregory Meeks Thursday on whether his party plans to impeach President Donald Trump over his warning to destroy a civilization in Iran.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats said in a post on X that Trump is “unfit for office” for his threat to wipe out “a whole civilization” if his deadline for Iran to agree to U.S. terms was not met. Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the committee, initially appeared hesitant to answer as Berman pressed the impeachment question on “CNN News Central” Thursday, but did note that Republicans would never be on board with such a plan.
“Now, there are Democrats who have called for either impeachment or trying to invoke the 25th Amendment,” Berman said after showing the X post shared by Meeks. “How do you feel about those efforts? Do you support those efforts?”
“Well, here’s what I feel. I feel that Donald Trump is trying to bankrupt America right now,” Meeks replied. “When you talk about the cost of his war of choice, that’s already cost the American people over twenty-five, thirty billion dollars, costing us a billion dollars a day. If you look at what he’s done with reference to tariffs and other things, and the cost of living and how he’s asking now for another 200 billion, might be reducing that. So, you know, I think he’s taking America down the path that he’s taken several of his business previously. I know them in New York, he bankrupted them. So is he an incompetent as president? Yes. He’s an incompetent president.”
“So, yes or no, is it worth the effort to either impeach him or evoke the 25th Amendment?” Berman pressed again.
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“Look, I don’t think, if I’m going to be honest with you, John, and I will — you know, you’ve got to be able to count in this business, and this business, whether he’s competent, I can talk on that,” Meeks said. “But to do those things, you have to have the votes.”
Meeks seemed to indicate impeachment isn’t on the table, without saying it outright.
“When I see that we have Republicans who won’t even have hearings in regards to oversight, so there’s no oversight by Republicans. And they control the House, they control the Senate, they have the presidency,” he said. “So realistically, I don’t have the time. I want to, I’m worried about the country, the country’s economy, the American people, and that’s where my efforts are going to be moving forward.”
Berman quickly wrapped up the segment after that response.
Trump on Tuesday warned that a “whole civilization [would] die” if Iran failed to reach an agreement on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz by the 8 p.m. deadline that night. Iran agreed to a two-week conditional ceasefire before the deadline, which led Trump to postpone a planned attack on country.
Israel launched deadly attacks on Lebanon which threatened the truce between the U.S. and Iran.
Democrats have introduced articles of impeachment against Trump multiple times during his second term, including Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar, who unsuccessfully attempted to impeach Trump in April 2025. Thanedar cited the Supreme Court’s decision from April 10, 2025, that the administration must facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an MS-13 member deported to El Salvador.
Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green forced the House to vote on whether to impeach Trump in December, which was overwhelmingly tabled in a 237 to 140 vote. The congressman cited Trump’s call for Democratic lawmakers who called on military members to refuse illegal orders to face arrest or trial that could be “punishable by death.”
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