US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania tested positive for the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. The news of them testing positive for the virus comes after it was confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of the president's closest advisers, tested positive for the virus.
Trump confirmed the news of him and the first lady testing positive for the virus on Twitter and said they are going to come out of this together. Doctor Sean Conley, who is the physician to the president, stated that both of them are currently doing well and are going to quarantine themselves in the White House.
Now Trump, who is at present 74, has a high chance of suffering from serious complications due to the virus that has killed more than one million people globally. The US president, however, is not seriously ill currently, but the situation can change in the near future.
What Happens If Trump Gets Seriously Ill?
The question that arises is, what will happen if the president gets seriously ill and he becomes incapacitated due to the illness? As reported by the Associated Press, the Constitution's 25th Amendment talks about the procedures under which presidents can declare themselves "unable to discharge the powers and duties".
If Trump has to make a call, he will transmit a written note to the Senate president pro tempore, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, and the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Mike Pence is going to serve as the acting president until Trump transmitted "a written declaration to the contrary."
The vice president, and a majority of either the Cabinet or another body that is established by law, can also give the declaration that the president is not able to discharge the powers and duties of his office. In that case, Pence will immediately have the powers and duties of the office as Acting President. With just a few weeks to go for the November elections, it will be interesting to see what will happen in the near future, as Trump's own election campaigns is likely to suffer until he recovers.
