American Succession
Should Trump die in office, it is not entirely clear that the 25th amendment will be followed when the rest of the constitution is already being ignored. There is, after all, another Donald J. Trump.
American vice president JD Vance, born James Donald Bowman, will likely be called upon to replace Donald Trump in the White House sooner rather than later. Trump hasn’t been seen much in days, and Vance says he’s ready to take over if “a tragedy happens,” not normal rhetoric for a vice president performing his duties.
Vance’s succession has likely been the tech bros’ plan all along. They have been backing his career for years, looking for a champion to deregulate the industries they control and further consolidate their power. Having him on the ticket with Trump was the fastest way to get this otherwise profoundly unlikeable specimen into the Oval Office.
But in a United States whose president has shown wanton disregard for the country’s constitution with the full support of the Republican Party, they may be in for an entirely different surprise when their current leader does finally kick the bucket.
When Trump dies, we can expect him to be worshipped by his followers in the way of Kim Il-Sung, an “eternal president” in whose name all things are done in North Korea. Speaking ill of the dead is rude, after all.
That status transition has already started. Washington, DC, this week, woke up to a city full of building-height banners of the American dictator. The city is already occupied, on Trump’s orders, by National Guard soldiers from six states.
In such a political environment, with the constitution already essentially shredded, there may be another succession candidate to watch out for. While the 25th amendment unequivocally names the vice president as the president’s successor, the same constitution bans the president from receiving any gifts from foreign powers, such as, say, a $400 million luxury jet.
It protects Americans’ right to free speech, bars unlawful search and seizure, gives Congress the power of the purse which includes power over tariffs, and numerous other points that are generally ignored by the current White House.
Why would succession be any different?
In a presidency where the leader portrays himself as the King and is not meaningfully challenged in that assertion, what is to stop his eldest son, Donald J. Trump, Jr, from claiming to inherit the throne upon his death?
Vance is not popular with the American people and is not closely associated with the MAGA movement that currently holds power. He is there as a condition of support from the tech bros. However, with Trump’s self-coup seizing power across law enforcement, judicial, and military branches of government, and his hold over state-level allies, the tech bros no longer have the influence that they believe they have.
Elon Musk’s departure this spring is a testament to that. While Musk got what he wanted out of the short and exciting period he was part of the White House team, Trump’s inner circle understood what the wider American public has yet to grasp: he no longer needs them to stay in power.
In taking over the machinery of government so thoroughly, by destroying all the norms that kept the rule of law in place, and by grifting billions of dollars through his blatant and unchecked corruption, he no longer needs either the funds or the infrastructure of the tech bros to retain power.
When he accepted that $400 million plane, which will cost the US Air Force somewhere around $1 billion to secure for the president’s use, he made it clear that it was his intent to keep the plane for his personal use after leaving office. When Democrats tried to block that from happening, Republicans shut down their efforts, allowing the Qatari Air Force One to remain under control of the Trump family following his tenure.
This also means that, when that plane is ready to be used as Air Force One, should Trump die in office it will pass on to the Trump Organization, currently run by Donald J Trump, Jr, not JD Vance.
California governor Gavin Newsom, who has been showing a mirror to the MAGA movement for the past few weeks in spectacular fashion, reports having received more than 20 “Trump 2028” hats so far. If you’re wondering, you can buy them directly from the Trump Organization — that same one run by Don Jr — at their on-line gift shop. Nothing about the hat says which Trump it is meant to support.
Mechanically, the Trump family would look to Kim Il-Sung’s succession as their model. 31 years after his death, the President of North Korea is still, officially, Kim Il-Sung. He is the country’s “eternal president” serving first through his son Kim Jung-Il followed now by his grandson Kim Jung-Un.
Should the Republicans declare Donald J. Trump to be their eternal president through the personification of his son Donald J. Trump, Jr., it would be left up to the Democrats to insist that the Constitution be followed — and demand that JD Vance be named as President instead.
For a Republican party keen to never give up power, having the opposition be the ones to demand that Vance be given the keys to the throne would be an enviable position. Democrats concerned about Trump Jr taking power while demanding Vance be sworn in would be fundamentally distracted from the overall corruption of the regime and inadvertently lend it overall legitimacy, regardless of the outcome of the coming internal power struggle.
Yes, while he is the legally, constitutionally elected sitting President. I think the branches of military would unite in denying him an illegal third term or succession. I hope I am right. I am in constant amazement of Republicans' failure to say enough is enough and remove him....
While I agree with your assertions, I still have faith in the US Military. The top brass have repeatedly made it clear that they are loyal to the Constitution, not the President.