Is trump refusing to step aside under the 25th amendment to the constitution?

1. What the 25th Amendment actually requires

The 25th Amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a president “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,” at which point the vice president immediately becomes acting president, with Congress resolving disputes if the president contests the declaration ^{[5] [3]}. That process requires an affirmative, organized action by the vice president and Cabinet rather than a unilateral decision by Congress or party leaders, making it a high constitutional hurdle ^{[5] [3]}.

2. Why the amendment is back in public view now

The trigger for renewed public discussion has been President Trump’s aggressive push to acquire Greenland and remarks suggesting potential use of force, plus a flurry of social posts and messages that critics call alarming, which spurred some lawmakers to publicly urge 25th Amendment action ^{[1] [6]}. Senator Ed Markey explicitly called for the Cabinet and Vice President JD Vance to invoke the amendment after reporting that Trump tied his push for Greenland in a message to not winning a Nobel Prize, a move that commentators and opponents described as evidence of unfitness ^{[2] [6]}.

3. The President’s stance and whether he’s “refusing to step aside”

There is no reporting in the provided sources that the president has been declared incapacitated or that he has attempted to transfer power voluntarily, and no account that he has signaled an intention to cede authority; rather, he has continued to exercise presidential functions while defending his policy positions publicly ^{[1] [7]}. Calls to “invoke the 25th” are demands by opponents and some commentators, not actions taken by the vice president or Cabinet, and thus do not amount to a factual refusal by Trump to step aside under the amendment as a legal matter ^{[2] [8]}.

4. Why removal via the 25th is unlikely in practice

Multiple analyses stress that, even if some lawmakers urge invocation, the amendment’s mechanics and political reality make it a long shot: it requires the vice president and a majority of Cabinet officers to break with the president, and many of those positions are occupied by loyalists or appointees likely to resist ^{[9] [4]}. Commentators argue there is no practical constitutional fix short of extraordinary consensus in the executive branch, and some outlets say that despite alarming rhetoric the pathway to removal “will never happen” or “isn’t going to work” given current alignments ^{[10] [3]}.

5. Competing narratives, motives and what the sources reveal

Advocates for invoking the amendment frame it as a public safety and constitutional necessity, with outlets like The Daily Beast declaring Trump “unable to discharge the powers and duties” based on recent communications and behavior, while other analysts and outlets emphasize the political motives behind calls—Senator Markey’s plea came amid a contested primary—and the constitutional limits that constrain such efforts ^{[9] [2]}. Mainstream reporting from outlets explaining the law (TIME, Bloomberg Law, The Tennessean) focuses on legal mechanics and the steep political barriers rather than endorsing immediate action, highlighting a split between urgent public alarm and sober institutional assessment ^{[1] [3] [5]}.

6. Bottom line: direct answer

No: President Trump is not currently stepping aside under the 25th Amendment, nor has the amendment been invoked against him; what exists in the public record are calls from some Democrats and commentators for the vice president and Cabinet to pursue that constitutional route, but experts and reporting caution those calls lack practical traction given the required actors and political dynamics ^{[2] [5] [4]}.