WASHINGTON, D.C. [March 9, 2026] — MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell declared on live television that the 25th Amendment "was written for yesterday at 8:03am", a direct reference to President Donald Trump’s profanity-filled Easter Sunday Truth Social post threatening to bomb Iranian power plants and bridges. O’Donnell’s statement was amplified by Call to Activism, the progressive digital advocacy platform founded by attorney Joe Gallina, as part of its ongoing coverage of Trump’s conduct during the Iran war and the mounting bipartisan alarm over the President’s fitness for office.
At 8:03 a.m. Eastern time on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, President Trump posted on Truth Social: "Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F*****’ Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell, JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP." The post, published while millions of Americans were attending Easter church services, threatened the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure in Iran, which multiple legal experts immediately identified as potentially constituting a war crime under international law and the laws of war.
The bipartisan reaction was swift. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) wrote on X: "If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged." Senator Bernie Sanders described the post as "the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual" and demanded Congress act immediately. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump was "ranting like an unhinged madman." Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, of Iranian descent, called Trump "a deranged lunatic, and a national security threat to our country and the rest of the world." Iran’s own embassies echoed the calls for the 25th Amendment to be invoked.
Lawrence O’Donnell’s statement on MSNBC, that the 25th Amendment "was written for yesterday at 8:03am", crystallized a growing bipartisan consensus about the implications of Trump’s conduct. The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967 following the assassination of President Kennedy, allows the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet members to declare a president unfit to discharge the powers and duties of the office, transferring authority to the Vice President as Acting President. It has never been formally invoked against a sitting president.
O’Donnell’s framing, pointing to the exact timestamp of Trump’s post as the moment that defined the constitutional threshold, distilled a complex legal and constitutional conversation into a single, devastating line. Call to Activism amplified the clip as part of its commitment to surfacing moments where political truth is spoken with clarity and precision, regardless of the personal or political risk to the speaker.
Legal experts, including retired Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, confirmed to PBS NewsHour that Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges constitute both a potential war crime and, under the law of war, a form of terror against a civilian population. The law of war, as VanLandingham explained, "prohibits measures of intimidation against a civilian population, including threats of violence whose primary purpose is to sow terror." Trump’s post directly threatened power plants that supply electricity to hospitals and refrigerate medicine for civilians.
As of the date of this release, the Iran war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, has resulted in more than 3,500 regional deaths and displaced over 4 million people. The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil supply passes, has been closed since the conflict began, driving global energy prices to historic levels.
Call to Activism published and widely distributed coverage of O’Donnell’s statement on April 7, 2026, across its platforms, reaching audiences on X, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. The platform’s founder, Joe Gallina, a trained attorney and recognized progressive commentator, has maintained consistent, legally grounded coverage of the Iran war and its implications for presidential conduct, democratic accountability, and constitutional governance since the conflict began.
About Joe Gallina
Joe Gallina is the founder of Call to Activism, one of the most influential progressive digital advocacy platforms in the US, reaching over 4 billion views annually. A former attorney and digital messaging strategist, Gallina is also the host of The Daily Mic Drop, a podcast known for its viral interviews with lawmakers and change-makers. His work challenges disinformation, promotes civic engagement, and consistently advocates for democratic values in the face of rising extremism.
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