What if?

This late in the game, it is difficult to make major changes. Congress COULD decide to move the election date back, but I see little to no chance of that happening.

Unless President Trump dies or is secretly incapacitated before November 3rd, any change to the ticket is unlikely.

If President Trump were to take a turn for the worse, I have no predictions other than to say we will find out a lot about internal politics at the RNC. There would be no time for involvement of citizens throughout the country, and absolutely anything could happen.

“Should Pence remain VP and new POTUS candidate be chosen”

Chosen by whom ? Under what authority ?

The people have selected Trump/Pence. I shudder to think that some self-appointed power brokers could step in and overturn that. If that happens, the Constitution no longer matters.

The actual answer to the question is that Mike Pence would select a VP running mate. The end result would be a Biden Presidency.

I agree that Mike Pence would select a VP running mate. He and Republican leaders are almost certainly, but extremely quietly, discussing that question. But I’m not sure I agree with Warrior15’s end result hypothetical prediction.

I can imagine a Pence led ticket with a VP candidate that strongly appeals to Trump’s base might hold on to enough voters enthused by Trump while siphoning enough voters from Biden who lean right but strongly disapprove of Trump. I guess it would depend on how Pence presents himself and is viewed without Trump’s shadow & coattails.

"The actual answer to the question is that Mike Pence would select a VP running mate. The end result would be a Biden Presidency."

What is the basis for this statement? The 25th Amendment covers who takes the office if the president dies or is incapacitated. It does cover replacement of presidential candidates. There may be some election law that covers the issue, but I'm not aware of it.

If Trump does die before the election, could we still vote for him? And if he wins, although dead, does the 25th Amendment take over then?

It does NOT cover . . .

Yeah, we need an edit button.

By most accounts, Trump has a 95% chance of fully recovering. Probably higher given the level of health care he is receiving.

Boris Johnson’s poll numbers jumped when he had CoVid. It was a sympathy thing.

As long as Trump is in the hospital, Biden and his allies in the media risk blowback if they trash Trump. Trashing Trump is pretty much their only tactic.

If Trump wasn’t sick, he couldn’t go silent in the final weeks of the campaign. Now, he has the perfect excuse. Maybe the press will pay a little scrutiny to Joe and Hunter to fill the silence.

Despite what’s printed on ballots, we don’t “actually” vote for two people. We vote for the slate of electors that “attend” the Electoral College who are pledged to particular candidates. Those electors would then be ‘free’ to chose the current candidates of the political party that they agreed to represent.

Actually the original intent of the Constitution was for the Electors to vote their conscience. But state laws and Supreme Court decisions make the electors decision more of a predetermined obligation.

^ I was about to check the Constitution to see what the actualbfuck you were talking about, LOL.

#NoEditsLife

"Maybe the press will pay a little scrutiny to Joe and Hunter to fill the silence."

That's a good one. You've got potential in comedy.

^@DrEvil

^@myself

This is probably the one case where Electors have room to change their vote from the candidates listed on the voters’ ballots.

What I would give to eavesdrop on the republican electors conference calls since yesterday, learn what they really think, how they really feel...

Yeah, I forgot about the electoral college. That throws another big wrinkle into this.

This is going to make 2020 an even odder year. Having the president in the hospital this close to an election is just another bizarre event in an already shitty year.

It appears that there are now more folks from the president’s close republican circle testing positive. This could make for a very odd November.

Looks like you fellas got your October surprise

The party of compassion , the one that wants to take over health care, hoping that someone dies because they disagree with his political views.

That was in poor taste TwentyFive.

Real poor taste.

Facts are stubborn thing winex, might not have been the surprise you hoped for but a surprise all the same

Yes, facts are stubborn things, and that was in real poor taste.

Totally disagree there is another fact, your candidate would be all over it if the shoe was on the other foot I can hear his voice saying "I like candidates that aren't weak and come down with the chinky flu"

and if Trump criticized someone for catching a potentially fatal disease, it would be in poor taste.

It would be even worse if that person were a head of state.

How does it feel to be like someone you claim to despise?

actually, that was unfair to President Trump. He didn't do what you are doing.

Typical liberal hypocrisy.

25IQ, indeed. Stupid and crass. Well, we already knew that. No wonder his family disowned him.

and if Trump criticized someone for catching a potentially fatal disease, it would be in poor taste

But it's good taste when he says I like war hero's that havent been captured

It was in poor taste when he said that about John McCain. It wasn't just poor taste, it was stupid of Trump to do so.

So what does that say about your behavior? Acting gleeful about the President and 3 Republican Senators contracting a potentially fatal disease.

You better hope that karma isn't half the bitch you are.

As for John McCain, personally, I voted for John McCain when he ran for the House of Representatives. I didn't vote for him as a Senator a single time, nor as a Presidential candidate. He supported too many liberal causes.

But he served our country proudly. And that record should never be mocked.

But speaking of mocking John McCain, what do you think about Obama and his campaign mocking John McCain during the 2008 election?

They were criticizing him for being computer illiterate because he used an aide to compose emails.

The reason he used an aide is because his shoulders caused him great pain whenever he tried to type.

They were injured when he was hung by his hands for weeks on end in a Vietnamese POW camp.

@windex Exactly where is the glee in my statements, you clearly have major issues with comprehension, the closest I came to glee was speaking in Trumps voice about liking strong candidates who don't come down with the China flu, other than that this is not glee you dumb autistic fuck This is simply a recitation of facts.

And it is a fact the nomination of Amy Coney Barret is now in jeopardy

I see you have outsourced your thinking to IceyDodo - good choice. Though he is an idiot, his mind is superior to yours.

As long as we’re going down the “what if” road there are reports Trump was showing some symptoms Wednesday morning, after the Tuesday debate. “What if” the person charged with leading the country through a pandemic, through his own risky behavior, put both presidential candidates, who are in high risk groups, in danger in the month before the election? I have doubts this board can agree on anything, much less, politics, but Trump’s behavior here is deserving of criticism.

Chris Christie tested positive. He’s been giving interviews saying nobody in the debate prep was masked or distancing. This could get worse, very quickly.

windex you are an idiot, if you think any one pays any more attention to you, than phat boy you two deserve each other

Back on topic, Pence would replace Trump on the ticket and his best bet would be to choose Nikki Haley as a running mate as a means to counter harris. Besides countering harris she's also more qualified.

Since you are picking up attempted insults from IceyLoco, does that mean you are accusing yourself of being attracted to underaged girls now?

@OSU “Back on topic, Pence would replace Trump on the ticket and his best bet would be to choose Nikki Haley as a running mate as a means to counter harris.“

I don’t know that this is possible. The states can’t change the ballots in time for Election Day. People have already voted. The “what if” scenario is unprecedented and I haven’t seen where there’s a rule to say what will happen. They need to keep trump and Biden alive for another month or we could have a mess “the likes of which nobody’s ever seen before” to quote my favorite orange president.

White House doctor said he was diagnosed 72 hours ago, so noon on Wednesday. He went and did two fund raisers after that, traveling with his team on Air Force One. They said nothing to the Biden campaign until he announced to the public by tweet 36 hours later at 1a Friday. The president himself and not hope hicks may be the spreader. I don’t think those actions are defensible.

The doctor has clarified that he mistakenly said “24 hours ago” when he meant “yesterday”. So, pump the brake on the conspiracy theories.