Vice President JD Vance said he’s prepared to run the country if “God forbid” something “terrible” were to happen to President Trump.
“Yes, things can always happen,” Vance told USA Today when asked if he was prepared to step up if something happened to President Trump, who has survived two assassination attempts..
“Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” he said. “And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days.”
Still, he stressed: “I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is gonna serve out the remainder of his term, and do great things for the American people.”
Trump, 79, is the oldest person to be sworn in as president. Vance, meanwhile, is the third youngest vice president in US history — but insisted Trump’s still up for the job.
“He’s got incredible energy, and while most of the people that work around the president of the United States are younger than he is, I think that we find that he actually is the last person who goes to sleep, he’s the last person making phone calls at night, and he’s the first person who wakes up and the first person making phone calls in the morning,” he continued.
The White House announced last month that Trump had been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a blood circulation issue, after noticing mild swelling in his lower legs.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the surprise disclosure while addressing conjectures about recent bruising seen on Trump’s hands — which the presidential physician attributed “minor soft tissue irritation” from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.
The presidential physician wrote in a memo that the president was subjected to various tests that ruled out blood clot and heart issues.
“Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease,” Leavitt told reporters. “No signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness were identified.”
