On Saturday's edition of  MSNBC’s The Weekend, co-host Jonathan Capehart reacted to President Trump’s comment about Japan and Pearl Harbor by demanding discussion of the 25th Amendment -- i.e., the removal of Trump from office.. Asked by a Japanese reporter why allies like Japan weren’t informed in advance of U.S. action against Iran, Trump said in the presence of Japan’s prime minister: “Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Capehart’s response was striking: I sometimes wonder, why are we not having a 25th Amendment conversation about this president? Because a comment like that, if it had come out of the mouth of President Biden, we would have been in rolling coverage about how Republicans on the Hill thinks that he should be removed from office for talking to an ally like that, and making that comment in response to a question from a Japanese journalist. MS NOW’s Capehart Suggests Yanking Trump Under 25th Amendment Over Pearl Harbor Comment pic.twitter.com/00356QjOjp — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) March 21, 2026 Notably, Capehart didn't suggest that Biden making such a remark would have been 25th Amendment grounds -- only that Republicans would be making the argument. Of course he didn't! Capehart was part of the liberal media cover-up of Biden's decline. Readers will be familiar with these examples: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough famously declared Biden the “best Biden ever,” while columnist Eugene Robinson described him as “sharp as a tack.”  Commentators dismissed certain viral clips of Biden as “cheap fakes,” and many criticized Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report—which described Biden as an elderly man with a poor memory—as out of bounds.  Whoopi Goldberg (The View) explicitly dismissed the importance of cognitive concerns, stating her unwavering support regardless of the president's physical or mental condition.  Evan Osnos of the New Yorker wrote in a March 2024 article that Biden’s mind seemed "unchanged" and that he "never bungled a name or a date" during an interview. And let's not forget that perhaps the single most egregious bit of covering for Biden's decline came at the hands of . . . Jonathan Capehart! In the course of interviewing Biden in October 2024, Biden nodded off, and Capehart had to jar him awake. And yet, in his then-MSNBC show, Capehart edited out that moment—undoubtedly the interview's most newsworthy event. Fortunately, the RNC captured it. For Capehart, a leader of the Biden cover-up, to now demand a 25th Amendment investigation of Trump, is hypocrisy par excellence. Trump's Pearl Harbor line might have seemed undiplomatic, but it pales in comparison to the countless instances of Biden revealing that he was no longer up to the job -- and the liberal media doing its best to cover for him. Capehart's guest Alan Eyre agreed with Capehart, that Trump lacks competence, and dragged Obama into the mix: "You're right. There's a massive double standard in terms of covering this president versus any other president. President Obama got grief for wearing a suit of a non-traditional....A tan suit. Right. So, yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So, again, I'm aghast at the lack of collective outrage at any number of things the president says, or more importantly, what he does." On X, national talk-radio host Erick Erickson reminded people that Barack Obama made a somewhat similar joke at a White House event with British prime minister David Cameron about the British setting the White House in fire in 1814 during the War of 1812. "They really lit up the place," Obama joked to laughter. Cameron responded with a joke in response. You could argue these were prepared remarks instead of off-the-cuff patter, but this underlines the elitist media's never-ending double standard.   Here's the transcript. MS NOW The Weekend 3/21/26 7:24 am EDT JONATHAN CAPEHART: I want to play for everyone something that the president of the United States said during a meeting with the Japanese prime minister on Thursday.  And he was asked why he didn't tell America's allies about what was about to happen in Iran. Please watch this and turn the sound up. Why didn't you tell your allies in Europe?  JAPANESE REPORTER: up. Why didn't you tell U.S. allies in Europe and in Asia, like Japan, about the war before attacking Iran. So we are very confused about, we, Japanese citizens. PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, one thing you don't want to signal too much. You know, when we go in, we went in very hard, and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise.  Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Okay? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay, right? No, I think you believe in surprise I think much more so than us. CAPEHART: I looked at the Japanese prime minister's face during that. And she tried very hard, very, very hard, not to react.  But as an American citizen, but also as a journalist who has covered now four presidents, both parties, and knowing how presidents of the United States are supposed to talk and to act on the world stage, particularly with our allies, that was, well, one, beyond disgusting.  But also just, I sometimes wonder, why are we not having a 25th Amendment conversation about this president?  Because a comment like that, if it had come out of the mouth of President Biden, we would have been in rolling coverage about how Republicans on the Hill thinks that he should be removed from office for talking to an ally like that, and making that comment in response to a question from a Japanese journalist -- Alan.  ALAN EYRE: Well, I've worked for every U.S. president since Reagan in one form or another. And you are quite right. This president is qualitatively different than every other.  And I don't say that as a member of any political party. It's not a Republican or a Democrat thing. It's a competence and expertise, and prioritizing the interests of the United States as your top priority.  This president's not doing that. His metrics for making decisions I don't think is necessarily what's in the long-term best interest of the United States.  And you're right. There's a massive double standard in terms of covering this president versus any other president.  President Obama got grief for wearing a suit of a non-traditional -- EUGENE DANIELS: A tan suit.  EYRE: A tan suit. Right. So, yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So, again, I'm aghast at the lack of collective outrage at any number of things the president says, or more importantly, what he does.