Nancy Pelosi said the White House has not spoken to her about continuity of government after Donald Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis, but implied “ongoing” conversations are happening with “military” and “some government officials.”
Next in line after Vice President Mike Pence to succeed the president – as speaker of the house – Pelosi was asked on Friday in an MSNBC interview about Trump’s “very serious health threat” and whether the White House has contacted her about the continuity of government.
“No, they haven’t,” she said, adding, “That is ongoing with the military and some officials in the government…Let us all pray for the president’s health, thank God the Vice President has tested negatively.”
MSNBC’s @SRuhle to @SpeakerPelosi: “You are second in line for the presidency. Has the White House contacted you about the continuity of government?” pic.twitter.com/HsanZxEiNh
Though the California congresswoman said she “prays” Trump and his family are safe, she added that his behavior, such as in-person campaigning, was a “brazen invitation for something like this to happen.”
“It’s very sad. But it also is something that, again, going into crowds, unmasked and all the rest was sort of a brazen invitation for something like this to happen. Sad that it did, but nonetheless, hopeful that it will be a transition to a saner approach to what this virus is all about,” she said.
Since Trump’s positive test result, liberal critics have been taking to social media to fantasize about the unlikely scenario where Pelosi temporarily takes charge as president.
Imagine if both Trump and Pence go onto ventilators, making Pelosi acting president for a few days……and she nominates a Supreme Court justice.
President Pelosi is looking very healthy right now.
If Trump and Pence both got sick and Nancy Pelosi had to become acting President, couldn’t she fire AG Barr, move the Supreme Court selection procedure until after the election? I know it’s far fetched. It was fun to type though.
The president announced on Thursday that both he and the first lady, Melania, had tested positive for Covid-19 and were beginning a quarantine. If Trump were incapacitated, the duties of the presidency would fall to the vice president, Mike Pence, who has announced that he has tested negative for the virus. If the vice president were to be incapacitated as well, then the next in the line of succession for the presidency would be the speaker of the house, Pelosi, 80, who has taken a Covid-19 test and is currently awaiting the results. Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden and his wife, Jill are also both being tested following news of Trump’s diagnosis.
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