L&T Publisher Earl Watt
There have been nine times in history when a vice president has ascended to the presidency without an election. Eight of those occurred when a president dies or was killed in office, and one was when the president resigned.
In most cases, the vice president did a decent job as president, and many served with dignity, creating their own legacy.
Some didn’t.
Perhaps the worst vice president to become president was Andrew Johnson who became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was impeached and avoided conviction by one vote in the Senate. That crucial votes to save him was cast by Edmund Ross from Kansas.
In other cases, vice presidents turned out to be very good presidents. Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of William McKinley in 1901, and Calvin Coolidge took over after Warren Harding died in office in 1923.
Roosevelt’s legacy is secured, and while Coolidge is not as popular of a historic figure, he presided over one of the most prosperous periods in American history known as the Roaring Twenties.
When Franklin Roosevelt dies in office in 1945, Harry Truman became president and was tasked with one of the most difficult decisions a president ever had to face — using an atomic weapon.
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, Lyndon Johnson became president and after being re-elected easily in 1964 with a strong sympathy vote for JFK, his popularity was so poor by 1968 that he did not seek re-election after failures in Vietnam and his Great Society programs that resulted in ghettos in major cities across the country.
Gerald Ford was the first to ever become president without ever being elected as vice president. Ford was appointed after Richard Nixon’s vice president Spiro Agnew resigned. Ford was appointed, and when Nixon resigned in 1974 Ford became president.
He was better than expected as president and narrowly lost re-election to Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Rarely is the vice president impactful, but the new political environment may change that.
For one, the two current candidates are in their twilight years. It is doubtful if Joe Biden will even complete his first term much less win a second.
Donald Trump in 78 years old. Not exactly a spring chicken.
This race may look more at the vice presidential candidates as having a high likelihood of serving as president sooner than expected.
Biden chose Kamala Harris because he said during the 2020 campaign that he wanted a black woman as his running mate.
This statement alone may have done the most damage to Harris, who was one of the first presidential candidates to leave the Democratic primary in 2020. By statement Harris met these identity characteristics, Biden stripped Harris of being the most qualified to be vice president.
In her tenure as vice president, Harris has shown no ability to accomplish anything meaningful. She was appointed to be the border czar, and record illegal immigration has been the result.
She has become known for her word salad answers to basic questions, and her head bobbing and annoying giggle have become Internet gold.
Trump will announce his vice presidential candidate this week during the Republican National Convention.
That choice will have major consequences for the first time in a long time.
His choice must be someone the American people can see as president. The nominee must be able to assume the duties with the confidence of the American people and not be chosen based on superficial qualities.
Many names have been tossed around, but two are specifically worthy of consideration — Tim Scott and Glenn Younkin.
Scott provides the positivity America needs, and Younkin has guided Virginia successfully while also being upbeat.
No vice president ever meant more.
