The claim that JD Vance can become president only if Donald Trump resigns or dies is simply constitutionally wrong. Those are only two of several routes by which he could assume the presidency. Under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, if the president is removed from office, dies or resigns, the vice president becomes president. Impeachment and conviction can therefore produce the same succession result. Vance will need only 12 votes to determine the President can no longer discharge his duties. And, quite separately, Vance is perfectly capable of seeking and winning the presidency in his own right. Being vice president does not somehow exhaust his constitutional eligibility to run for president. Nor is the idea that Vance has never demonstrated electoral viability particularly convincing. He entered electoral politics by winning a competitive Republican Senate primary in Ohio in 2022 and then defeated Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan in the general election by roughly six percentage points, winning a statewide race in a major industrial state. 2.2 million people liked Vance more thanTim Ryan. He went from political outsider to elected United States senator to vice president of the United States in a remarkably short political career. That does not prove he will win a presidential election, but it makes the categorical assertion that he "will never get elected" look considerably more like partisan wishful thinking than political analysis. The "empty suit" argument is equally difficult to sustain as an objective assessment. You've used some American slang that, typically, as an American, you expect the rest of the world to understand. I had to look up what this street clang meant; an "empty suit" is an idiom for a person in a high-ranking or authority position who looks professional and important, but completely lacks real skills, knowledge, or substance. George W Bush might be considered to fit your "empty suit" definition. But as a politician, he was extraordinarily successful; twice elected Governor of Texas (the 8th largest economy in the world, considerably more significant than, say, Arkansas), and twice elected President of the United States. In political terms, there isn't much more than he could do. Yet being an "empty suit" didn't hold him back. John Major presented a cerebral figure, but he left school with no qualifications, yet ended up Chancellor then Prime Minister. Vance is a Yale Law graduate, former Marine, author of Hillbilly Elegy, venture capitalist, former senator and now vice president. One may strongly disagree with his politics, rhetoric or judgment, but calling someone "incompetent" requires evidence of incompetence rather than simply disapproval of his ideological positions. Indeed, his rapid advancement within the Republican Party demonstrates considerable political effectiveness: whatever one thinks of his methods, he has proved capable of winning a statewide election, establishing himself within the Trump movement (despite significant anti-Trump statements) and securing the vice-presidential nomination. The claim about charisma is ultimately a matter of political taste, not constitutional or electoral fact. Vance plainly does not possess Trump's theatrical persona, but he does not need to. American presidents have succeeded with radically different political styles. A candidate can be cerebral, combative, disciplined, ideological, reassuring or charismatic in different ways. Harry Truman, John Major, Dwight Eisenhower, George HW Bush, Calvin Coolidge, were all successful politicians (success being elected to high office), yet lacked charisma. Vance's public persona is considerably more argumentative and intellectual than Trump's, and his political appeal is tied heavily to populist and nationalist arguments. Whether that appeal is sufficient for a presidential majority is an entirely legitimate question. Declaring in advance that it cannot possibly be is not. Political careers are not determined by the personality judgements of their opponents. The relevant question is not whether someone finds Vance "incredibly unlikeable"; it is whether he can assemble a coalition large enough to win a Republican nomination and then an Electoral College majority. Maggie Thatcher, Richard Nixon, Tony Blair, Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill are all examples of unlikeable politicians who were, by some measure, successful. Churchill lost the 1945 election because people basically didn't like him. He won the 1951 election because people decided he was less unlikeable that Atlee proved to be. As of 2026, Vance is already being discussed as a leading potential Republican presidential contender for 2028. One can reasonably argue that he would struggle to win a general election. But "he can only become president if Trump dies or resigns" is not a serious prediction. It ignores the Constitution, ignores his actual electoral record, and substitutes personal dislike for evidence. If you are arguing that its impossible for Vance to become president because he's incompetent, unlikeable, and lacks charisma, then the interesting comparison is with George HW Bush. He wasn't a particularly likeable chap, apparently lacked understanding of complex issues, and was a dull as dishwater on the hustings. But he was elected as President, largely on the back of a charismatic but clearly declining President Reagan. Like Mondale, probably overplayed his war record too much. His son might have lacked charisma and competence (both arguably), but on a personal level, he seems a likeable bloke, able to laugh at himself. Interesting comparison to his brother Jeb, who is generally recognised as a very competent politician, but ultimately less successful. Clearly money talks in US politics, with candidates of all colours boasting how much they have raised to essentially buy votes. Vance is likely in a pretty strong position to raise funds, due to his financial/investment experience and connections. Moreover, if he is the candidate to continue the Heritage Foundation Agenda, and if it's true that members of the wider Trump family have enriched themselves through corrupt practices (and now are even richer since the Patriarch has passed), he is the candidate most likely to keep them out of prison.
