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Trump repeats 'mad theory' that Pelosi could become president despite fact-checker saying it's not completely true

POTUS has been so upset over the growing support for mail-in voting that he said the speaker could become the president if the results get delayed indefinitely
PUBLISHED AUG 22, 2020
Nancy Pelosi, President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Nancy Pelosi, President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump is so upset with the idea of holding mail-in ballots for the upcoming presidential election that he has not only attacked the US Postal Service (USPS) but also floated the “mad theory” again that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could become the president if results were delayed because of the new arrangement. Support for mail-in voting has gone up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which has hit more than 5.6 million people in the US and claimed more than 175,000 lives. 

On Friday, August 21, Trump said at the 2020 Council for National Policy that widespread vote-by-mail ballots could see delays by weeks, months, years or the results might not come out ever. 

“And I don’t know what’s going to happen. You know there’s a theory that if you don’t have it by the end of the year, crazy Nancy Pelosi would become president. You know that right,” the president said, adding: “Think of that. That mad theory too. You’ve heard that theory. Now I don’t know if it’s a theory or a fact but I said, that’s not good.”

Pelosi, 80, is the third in line to the presidency after Trump and his deputy Mike Pence. It is believed theoretically that the California representative would become the commander-in-chief if no new president gets inaugurated by the time Trump’s tenure ends at noon on January 20. 

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence (Getty Images)

As per Section Three of the 20th Amendment of the US Constitution: “If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.”

The president also took a dig at the Democrats alleging it to be a part of “their whole act”. “... if you don't have a choice that the speaker of the House becomes president and I think that goes into effect either on the 20th or the 1st. And put that in the hopper, add that to everything else. It's a disgrace. They know it's filthy, dirty,” the Republican preparing for a challenging re-election bid said. 

The theory of Pelosi becoming the president (she would also become the first woman to be so) first emerged in July after Trump suggested delaying the election till the pandemic got over. “PresidentPelosi” started trending on major social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook soon after. Veteran GOP senator from Tennessee Lamar Alexander also feared the same last month while speaking to CNN reporter Kristin Wilson. 



 

It will not be a cakewalk for Pelosi, the rules say

However, a fact-checking piece on USA Today said the claim of Pelosi becoming the president if there is no elected president or vice president on time is not true. The claim, according to the piece, ignores the fact while Pelosi herself is also up for re-election this year, the Constitution also restricts the terms of other members. 
It is true that behind the vice president in the case of presidential succession, comes the speaker as determined by the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. But there are more than what meets the eyes in case of Pelosi. 

The 20th Amendment also says that the terms of senators and representatives conclude at noon on January 3 (Section One). If the election is delayed (which is very unlikely), then no vote would take place to either re-elect or remove Pelosi from the office. She would also have to step down from her position. The person who would assume the office of the president in that case would be the president pro tempore of the Senate and it is Chuck Grassley, the GOP member from Iowa. 

The story doesn’t end here either. If no election takes place, it would not be just Pelosi but 35 other senators (most of whom are Republicans) who could also be removed as they are due for re-elections. That would leave the 100-member Senate as a 65-member body with the Democrats turning into majority. Those senators could technically choose a new senate president pro tempore who could take over as the president. 

However, it is not to say that under such a situation, the GOP would not be able to maintain their hold on the Senate. According to a Congressional Research Service report named ‘Continuity of Government’, in the case of a Senate vacancy depending on the law of a state, its governor can make temporary appointments till an election is held. It means seats vacated by a Democrat could eventually be filled by a Republican. 

Twitter blocked the tweet emphasizing Pelosi could become the president behind a misleading warning tag pointing to the USA Today article.

However, if the election happens and Pelosi wins her re-election bid before the January 3 deadline but the fate of the presidential election remains uncertain even after January 20, then the Democratic leader could be placed in the seat of power.

No wonder Trump is an anxious individual these days.

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