President Trump (Right) And Vice President Vance (Left). Photo Credit: The White House on X
In the midst of concerns for President Trump’s health, Kennesaw State University professors provided insight as to what would happen if the president were to die.
“This condition is mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, article two,” said David Gethings, adjunct lecturer in the Department of Government and International Affairs at KSU. “It does say that the vice president shall assume the duties of the president.”
“[The new president] would then be obligated to appoint another vice president with the approval of Congress,” said Gary Carrico, professor in the Political Science department at KSU.
But the chain of command isn’t where the public’s concerns stop. Many also wonder about what the current administration would look like with JD Vance running it.
“We don’t have a long history of his beliefs on record,” Dr. Gethings said. “Prior to 2016, he was a political foe of then candidate Trump. But since that time, he’s become one of the president’s most vocal supporters. I would imagine he would ride that wave of Trump populism to continue [Trump’s] policies because they have been politically successful for Republicans.”
“It’s hard to say he’ll continue everything,” said Professor Carrico. “If he wants to maintain that base of support, he would be under a lot of pressure to do what they perceive Trump would have done. Although, for that base, that would depend on the person more than the actual policy.”
Another question that could come to mind is what the reaction of the Republican party would be if President Trump were to pass away.
“I think there would be a very large mourning,” said Dr. Gethings. “There would be almost a saintly reflection in some of his more stalwart supporters. There would be the official mourning that would happen with any president, but I think it would be especially true for some of his more ardent supporters.”
With the systems put in place for a president’s passing being as old as they are, there are differing opinions on whether or not the system itself should be changed.
“I think they do need some modernization,” Dr. Gethings said. “Today, there are some technicalities that still are not covered by the Presidential Succession Act. Details like if the person becomes president or is simply the acting president, which does have legal ramifications,”
Dr. Carrico had a different view on the matter.
“We definitely needed to improve on what the original system was,” Professor Carrico said. “The 25th amendment was a much needed improvement, and it provided a firewall for past presidents. I can’t think of an easy way off the top of my head to make it better.”
The 25th amendment, much like the Presidential Succession Act, outlines a process for presidential succession, as well as the ability for the vice president and Congress to remove the current president by a two-thirds vote.
