Military Leaders Reportedly Sidelined 'Not Well' Donald Trump From Critical Iran Rescue Mission Over 'Crazy' Behavior

Senior US military leaders reportedly kept Donald Trump at arm's length during a critical Iran rescue mission briefing in Washington earlier this month, with one Democratic lawmaker now arguing the president is 'not well' and should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment.

According to the Irish Star, the claims stem from an incident after a US fighter jet was shot down by Iranian forces, triggering a high risk operation to rescue a downed airman inside Iran. The paper, citing a report first detailed by The Wall Street Journal, says Trump was not given a full command briefing on the mission and instead received only limited updates because senior officials feared his behaviour could jeopardise the operation. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has publicly confirmed that account.

'Not Well': How Donald Trump Was Allegedly Cut Out Of An Iran Briefing

The central claim is stark. Rather than leading discussions on a covert mission to recover a US airman from hostile territory, Trump was reportedly kept away from detailed planning by senior figures inside his own administration.

The report claims that in the hours after the jet was shot down, Trump was in a state of near panic, shouting at aides in the West Wing and fixating on the political fallout if the rescue failed. According to people cited by the Journal, he was also preoccupied by comparisons with the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, which has long been seen as a political disaster for Jimmy Carter.

'If you look at what happened with Jimmy Carter, it cost them the election,' Trump is quoted as saying, according to people familiar with his private remarks. In that account, his focus was not only on the immediate military problem, but on how the crisis might affect him politically.

Faced with that atmosphere, national security officials are said to have decided it was safer to manage the operation without Trump in the room. He was reportedly kept informed in broad terms, but the most sensitive decisions were handled by others.

The report suggests this was not simply a matter of style or internal preference. It presents the move as a response to what officials allegedly saw as erratic or 'crazy' behaviour. That claim has now fuelled fresh Democratic calls to revisit the 25th Amendment.

Daniel Goldman And Democrats Revive The 25th Amendment Question

New York Democrat Daniel Goldman was among the first to react publicly to the report. In a post on X, he used the alleged sidelining to question Trump's fitness for office.

'The commander in chief was excluded from commanding a military operation because he was acting so crazy. Think about that,' Goldman wrote. 'Trump is not well. We need the 25th Amendment before something really bad happens on US soil.'

His intervention comes as some Democrats try once again to frame Trump as unfit for office. The Irish Star also pointed to a string of other incidents, including inflammatory rhetoric about Iran, public attacks on Pope Leo XIV and social media posts that critics say have intensified concerns about his judgement.

Last Tuesday, House Democrats introduced legislation to create a Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers and Duties of Office. The measure was put forward by Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Raskin said public trust in Trump's ability to carry out his duties had fallen to 'unprecedented lows.' He accused the president of threatening to destroy civilisations, escalating instability in the Middle East, insulting the Pope and sharing imagery that likened himself to Jesus Christ.

A President Under Scrutiny, A Military Walking On Eggshells

Taken together, the Iran rescue story and the Democratic response paint a picture of a presidency under intense strain. If the reporting is accurate, the suggestion that military and national security officials managed a life or death operation while limiting the president's role would be extraordinary.

That said, the core claim remains unverified. No official transcript or formal record of the meeting has been released, and neither the Pentagon nor the White House has issued a detailed public explanation.

What is not in doubt is that the episode has given Trump's critics a new line of attack. Supporters, by contrast, are likely to dismiss the story as another attempt by hostile media outlets and political opponents to undermine him.

The 25th Amendment has shadowed Trump's presidency for years, resurfacing whenever opponents argue that his conduct has crossed a new threshold. This latest allegation, that officials allegedly kept him out of a crucial Iran rescue briefing because of his behaviour, is the newest and most dramatic version of that argument.

Until someone involved speaks on the record, the full picture will remain contested. What is clear is that a moment of military danger abroad has once again fed directly into the wider battle over whether Donald Trump can be trusted in the Oval Office.