Donald Trump Hit With 25th Amendment Calls After Claiming Solar Panels Are 'Hotter Than Your Stove'

Donald Trump faced renewed online calls to invoke the 25th Amendment after claiming during a Texas campaign visit on Tuesday that solar panels kill animals because their black surfaces are 'hotter than your stove'.

The 80-year-old president travelled to Corpus Christi and Lubbock to rally support for Republican Ken Paxton, who is challenging Democrat James Talarico in a closely watched Senate race. The visit formed part of Trump's efforts to reinforce Republican support ahead of the midterms.

The unscripted remarks prompted swift derision across the social media platform X, where critics seized upon the unusual physical claim to renew calls to invoke the 25th Amendment regarding presidential fitness.

Detractors argued that the assertions demonstrated an alarming departure from reality just days before the 3 November midterm elections, contrasting with Trump's longstanding defence of his discursive speech style as a calculated rhetorical technique known as 'the weave'.

While wildlife biologists acknowledge that massive utility projects require environmental mitigation, industry researchers noted that commercial solar surfaces do not reach cooking temperatures capable of instantly frying wildlife, dismissing the president's characterisation as unfounded political rhetoric.

Trump's Solar Panel Claims Draw Criticism

During the visit, Trump turned from the campaign to solar energy and alleged that installations were killing animals.

'They have solar, some solar, not those big monsters that they put up all over, they kill all the animals,' Trump stated.

The president elaborated on his theory by describing the thermal properties of photovoltaic panels and comparing their operating heat to that of household kitchen equipment.

'The animals jump on them, and they fry because those black panels are hotter than your stove,' he continued.

Engineering data indicate that while dark photovoltaic silicon absorbs ambient sunlight, operational surface temperatures typically range between 55 and 75 degrees Celsius, far below the temperatures required to instantly fry biological tissue.

Trump and Calls for the 25th Amendment

A vocal segment of social media users on platform X responded by calling for cabinet members to consider executive removal procedures under the United States Constitution.

The remarks prompted criticism, including calls to consider the 25th Amendment. 'It's really time for 25th Amendment for real,' one user wrote. Another posted, '25th amendment type s--t.'

The 25th Amendment establishes procedures for replacing a president who dies, resigns or is removed from office. It also provides for the transfer of presidential powers if a president is unable to carry out their duties.

A third wrote, 'This man does not live in reality. 25th amendment is never too late to invoke before he does something incredibly stupid,' while a fourth added, 'I'm pretty sure there's an amendment for this.'

These were comments from individual social media users. Their remarks questioning Trump's fitness do not establish a medical assessment of his cognitive health.

The White House press office did not issue a formal response addressing the social media discourse.

Trump's Earlier Remarks on Renewable Energy

The solar-panel claim echoed comments Trump delivered last year while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. During that exchange, he criticised Britain's renewable energy policies and attacked both windmills and solar panels.

'It's such a valuable asset, and instead, they're putting these stupid windmills all over the place,' Trump stated. 'Every time you put up a windmill, it costs the country millions of dollars a year to have that horrible thing turn. It's ugly, it's bad for the environment, it kills the birds, and beyond that it costs a fortune.'

Turning to birds landing on solar panels, he added, 'You ever see what happens to a bird when a bird lands on these? They fry, because it's hot... a bird lands on them? It's over.'

Donald Trump has described his tendency to move between subjects as 'the weave'. He has also repeatedly claimed to have aced three cognitive tests, although the detailed results have not been released.