JD Vance has said he is ready to take on the presidency “If God forbid, a terrible tragedy happens” to Donald Trump.
In a wide-ranging interview with USA TODAY, the vice president said he was “confident” President Trump would see out the rest of his term, but added he has had a lot of “on-the-job training”.
He also insisted to White House Correspondent Francesca Chambers Trump was in “incredibly good health”, despite recent questions about the president’s physical wellbeing.

Vance said: “He’s got incredible energy, and while most of the people who work around the President of the United States are younger than he is, I think we find that he actually is the last person who goes to sleep, he’s the last person making phone calls at night, and he’s the first person who wakes up and the first person making phone calls in the morning.
Yes, terrible tragedies happen, but I feel very confident the President of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people.
“And if, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” he added.
According to the 25th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president assumes the full title and responsibilities of the president if they die, resign, or are removed from office. There have been nine instances of a vice president succeeding their president during a term.
For example, Calvin Coolidge was vice president under Warren G. Harding and became president after Harding died suddenly on August 2, 1923.