Ready for top job if….: Will this be Vance’s big slip in Trump’s books?

Is JD Vance buckling up to take up the reins from President Donald Trump? The US Vice President has said that he is “ready” to take charge as the US President in case any “terrible tragedy” befalls Trump.

His comments came as he addressed concerns over the 79-year-old president’s health. “The president is in incredibly good health…He’s got incredible energy. 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,” Vance told USA Today.

Vance’s comments came amid rising concerns over President Trump’s health, following the appearance of a noticeable bruise on his hand during a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

At 78 years and seven months, Trump became the oldest person in US history to take the oath of office when he was sworn in this January. His predecessor, Joe Biden, was 78 years and two months old when he assumed office in 2021.

This marks the first time Vance has publicly expressed his intention to become the president of America, even as his name for the top job has come up in many conversations earlier.

“…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,” Vance said.

Although Trump has not reacted to Vance’s big statement yet, the episode might cause some friction between the duo, who have had a complicated relationship in the past.

Vance once compared Trump to Hitler

Eight years ago, in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election, JD Vance was a bitter critic of Donald Trump.

Publicly, he called the Republican businessman an “idiot” and said he was “reprehensible.” Privately, he compared him to Adolf Hitler.

Vance’s transformation, from self-described “never Trumper” to stalwart loyalist, makes him a relatively unusual figure in Trump’s inner circle.

“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler,” he wrote privately to an associate on Facebook in 2016.

When his Hitler comment was first reported in 2022, a spokesperson did not dispute it, but said it no longer represented Vance’s views.

From ’never Trumper’ to yes-man

However, the tables turned after Trump announced Vance as his running mate during the presidential campaign last year.

Since then, the vice president has been defending his boss relentlessly, even if that meant drawing attention to himself by stoking controversies.

From supporting Trump during his hush-money trial to defending him in the Epstein files case, Vance has been through the president’s thick and thin.

Earlier this year, Trump indicated that Vance could succeed him at the same time, as he has expressed a desire to run for president for the third time. And earlier this month, the president said that Vance is the “most likely” heir of the Maga movement.

With inputs from agencies