U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) doubled down on his calls for President Trump to be removed from office over the war in Iran during a press conference Wednesday on Boston Common, despite a ceasefire with Iran being reached by Trump’s stated deadline.
“Yesterday, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, said that a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ if there is no ambiguity, in those words, no spin, that can soften them. That was a threat of annihilation, that was a threat of genocide,” Markey said, addressing reporters in front of The Embrace statue.
Markey’s words echo statements he made Tuesday, also calling for Trump’s removal, whether it be by impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment. It’s in reaction to a Tuesday post to Truth Social by Trump, who warned Iran’s entire civilization will “die tonight” if a ceasefire deal was not reached by his stated deadline.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” Trump’s post read.
But a ceasefire deal was reached Tuesday night, with Iran accepting a two-week ceasefire and negotiations with the U.S. in Islamabad set to begin Friday. Markey says that’s not enough to convince him to change his stance on whether Trump is fit to remain at the White House.
“Now, I am glad that there is a ceasefire with Iran, because this war must end. But that does not change the fact that Donald Trump is unfitting to serve. He has put the entire world at risk, because after six weeks of Trump’s illegal war, thousands of people are dead, including 13 American service people. The United States has lost its moral standing in the world and with our allies,” Markey said.
The agreement between the U.S., Israel and Iran led to mass celebrations by Iranian citizens in the streets, seen on national TV networks continuing into Wednesday morning.
“For the Iranian people, who were yesterday by the thousands standing on the bridges of Iran to protect against the destruction of those bridges, of the energy infrastructure, of the power plants, of the electricity in their country, of course they are breathing a sigh of relief,” Markey answered, going on to claim Trump threatened genocide against the Iranian people.
The Herald also asked Markey about his support for sending billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer dollars to support Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, with numerous Russian cities having been hit in strikes with U.S. weapons, and if he considers that a “morally corrupt” decision as he does Trump’s current military action in Iran.
“I clearly support Ukraine, and I clearly support them receiving the resources, which they need to fight against an illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine. It is absolutely imperative that we continue to give the Ukrainian people the support which they need and deserve and to the extent to which Russia has been a major beneficiary of this war in the Persian Gulf,” Markey said.
Markey joined Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 50 House Democrats Tuesday in calling for the removal of Trump. This as the rest of the Massachusetts federal delegation pushed a mix of calls for Congress to utilize the War Powers Act or hold another type of vote to “reign in” Trump and stop the increasing military action.
“The Iranian regime is still in power. Trump has traded one Ayatollah for another Ayatollah. Iran still has access to enriched uranium. And the Iranian people are no more free than they were before. Gas prices are skyrocketing. Gas prices went up again today. And that is a Trump tax that is being paid at the pump. By every single driver in our country,” Markey added.
Congressman and U.S. Sen. candidate Seth Moulton (MA-06), who is running to unseat Markey in the September primary, joined in on calls for impeaching Trump Wednesday after not going as far in comments he made Tuesday.
“Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense. Congress needs to get back to work and remove him from office before he does more damage to our country and the world,” Moulton posted to X.
Several other members of the Massachusetts federal delegation also continued their own calls for Trump’s removal on Wednesday, while also expressing support for the ceasefire.
All sides have presented different versions of the terms of the ceasefire agreement, with Iran claiming it would allow it to formalize the newly established practice of charging ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump says the U.S. will work with Iran to remove enriched uranium buried in the country.
Meanwhile, Pakistan and other Arab nations say fighting would pause in Lebanon, where Israel has been conducting military action, hitting the country with a barrage of airstrikes Wednesday morning in a continued fight against the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the deal does not cover military action against Hezbollah. Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz in response.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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