# Should Biden select a different VP in the next Election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 9, 2023, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341 "2023-12-09T23:54:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/21 "2023-12-10T01:02:46Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Based on life expectancy tables, Biden can anticipate living another 7-8 years. Did you take into account that he is married, white, has a graduate degree, and is a currently employed high income earner? Sounds like no. Using this calculator, I am getting a life expectancy of 94 if he works out once a week, and 91 if he rarely exercises: > **[Calculate your life expectancy based on academic research (in 2 minutes)](https://www.blueprintincome.com/tools/life-expectancy-calculator-how-long-will-i-live/)** > > Want to know what the data says about how long you’ll live? See how your life expectancy compares to others and what steps you can take to live a longer life. Some of the needed data is here: [Doesn’t smoke, doesn’t drink](https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/05/biden-2020-president-facts-what-you-should-know-campaign-121422) [Height, weight, medical status](https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Health-Summary-2.16.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/22 "2023-12-10T01:14:46Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > This is an oddly confident projection. > > mmm I check CNN headlines every morning for general news updates. It’s always a relief that Biden is still on the job. There’s times he looks so confused. He had to ask a soldier how to exit the room a couple weeks ago. The cameras caught it. Sigh. Please Mr President try Prevagen. 🙏 We need him. Kamela is just waiting. Remember how she was before becoming VP? She had swung pretty far left and openly criticized Biden. That only changed after getting on the Ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/23 "2023-12-10T01:22:02Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Should he become incapacitated, I’m comfortable with Harris taking over. She’d most likely be best served by choosing a VP with extensive congressional experience in that scenario. Assuming inability of the president: That would require 2/3 of congress to remove Biden and also require congress to approve of a new VP should Harris become president. I can’t imagine republicans playing nice on this at all. Stopping Harris, a black woman, from becoming president is certainly something they would want. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/24 "2023-12-10T01:29:29Z")
Eh? By incapacitated, I meant dead or seriously ill to the point of resigning, after Jan. 20th, 2025. Ousting a cuckoo-bird prez is a whole other kettle of fish. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/25 "2023-12-10T01:33:39Z")
If Biden resigns or dies then Harris just becomes president (although I think congress still has to approve of her choice for VP if she became president in this manner). If Biden goes senile and refuses to resign (or suffers some other disability which makes it impossible for him to discharge his duties as president) the 25th amendment can be invoked to remove him if he cannot or will not resign. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/26 "2023-12-10T01:38:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I painfully aware that Trump can’t be allowed to win. Then what exactly do you need to “understand before being asked to vote next year”? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/27 "2023-12-10T01:43:05Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Kamela’s … You spelled right once, then you spelled it wrong. What is it that people think is confusing about her name, whether it’s the pronunciation or the spelling? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/28 "2023-12-10T01:43:44Z")
Well sure, but that’s the least likely scenario. My only point was that I don’t care if Joe is a 1000 years old. He only needs to hold it together until Jan. 20, 2025. I shouldn’t have used the term ‘incapacitated’ I guess. A scenario in which Biden would need to removed via the 25th Amendment is pretty unlikely. On the other hand, suppose Biden stepped down in the summer of 2025, I wonder what would happen with Congress and a new VP. Or would there have to be a new VP at all? Harris could just leave the position empty. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/29 "2023-12-10T01:53:23Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Or would there have to be a new VP at all? Harris could just leave the position empty. Whether Harris would want a new VP could depend on several things. The VP casts a tie-breaking vote in the senate if a vote results in a tie. This is something Harris had to do several times. This depends on the balance of power in the senate. Then, remember, the next in line for the presidency, after the VP, is the Speaker of the House. If that person is a republican they would be happy to not have a democratic VP standing in line before them. Which, I think, would encourage crazies (of which there seem to be plenty) to try to assassinate a black woman democrat president and let republicans take over the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/30 "2023-12-10T01:56:40Z")
Seriously, her name has 3 very complicated syllables, same as Marjorie. Do Republicans ever mispronounce that one? And it’s even simpler to spell. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/31 "2023-12-10T01:57:14Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I shouldn’t have used the term ‘incapacitated’ I guess. A scenario in which Biden would need to removed via the 25th Amendment is pretty unlikely. On the other hand, suppose Biden stepped down in the summer of 2025, I wonder what would happen with Congress and a new VP. Or would there have to be a new VP at all? Harris could just leave the position empty. There is no way she would voluntarily leave the position empty. She would nominate a replacement who would have to be confirmed by a majority of both houses of congress. Now, if one or both houses of congress were GOP-controlled, her pick might not win confirmation. That’s the only way the VP slot would remain open. Re the last [Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole) post, the presidency is an extremely dangerous job whomever is in the position. Maybe this is as big a factor in life expectancy as normal mortality calculations. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/32 "2023-12-10T01:58:02Z")
Well there’s a happy thought. I doubt it would matter much, though. Even if Harris was ‘forced’ by a republican Congress to nominate an ‘acceptable’ candidate, she could just shove that person in a closet and forget about them. (Unless needed for Senate tiebreakers, of course) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/33 "2023-12-10T02:04:11Z")
I just looked up Rockefeller’s confirmation by the Democratic Congress in 1974. He got 90 senators and 69% of the House. I’m pretty sure Ford was confirmed with even greater ease. I can only imagine what would happen in the current climate. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/34 "2023-12-10T02:07:48Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Even if Harris was ‘forced’ by a republican Congress to nominate an ‘acceptable’ candidate, she could just shove that person in a closet and forget about them. (Unless needed for Senate tiebreakers, of course) Consider that Biden’s cabinet nominees frequently got roughly half of the GOP senators voting Yes for confirmation: > **[How senators voted on Biden Cabinet nominees, 2021](https://ballotpedia.org/How_senators_voted_on_Biden_Cabinet_nominees,_2021)** > > Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics So long as Harris didn’t nominate someone from the squad – which she would not – her replacement VP choice would have a high confirmation probability. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/35 "2023-12-10T02:09:26Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > So long as Harris didn’t nominate someone from the squad – which she would not – her replacement VP choice would be highly likely to be confirmed. I wish I shared your optimism about the Republicans currently in Congress. Hopefully, BIden will serve out his second term and we’ll never need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/36 "2023-12-10T02:14:48Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Re the last [Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole) post, the presidency is an extremely dangerous job whomever is in the position. Maybe this is as big a factor in life expectancy as normal mortality calculations. Maybe. But US presidents also have probably the best personal security on the planet which helps them. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/37 "2023-12-10T02:27:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > There’s times he looks so confused. He had to ask a soldier how to exit the room a couple weeks ago. The cameras caught it. Sigh. You mean this? ![](https://media.tenor.com/OJ8KlQCtMKMAAAAM/american-funny.gif "American Funny GIF - American Funny George Bush - Discover & Share GIFs") ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/38 "2023-12-10T02:32:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > He had to ask a soldier how to exit the room a couple weeks ago. The cameras caught it. Eh…all presidents seem to have dumb moments caught on camera. Imagine a camera on you almost all the time you are out of the house and everything you do is published. I bet we’d catch you doing something stupid too (not just you…anyone…we have all had those dumb moments). ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/39 "2023-12-10T02:44:31Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Did you take into account that he is married, white, has a graduate degree, and is a currently employed high income earner? Sounds like no. Did you take into account how stressful being President is? They look 20 years older when they leave office. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341/40 "2023-12-10T03:13:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I expect a person tasked with that job to represent the President. _Show leadership!_ Put together a task force. Talk to the landowners that are effected every day by immigrants using it as pathways. Maybe work out financial compensation. Kamela should be meeting with border patrol. What resources do they need? How should they implement policy? That’s a possibility I suppose. But here’s another one. Maybe Harris did her job and checked out the issue - and discovered there’s no serious problem that needs to be fixed. It could be that Republicans are lying when they talk about an immigration crisis. It could be that there is no crisis. And Harris refusing to go into a panic doesn’t mean she’s ignoring a crisis. Instead, she’s responding appropriately to the actual level of the issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-biden-select-a-different-vp-in-the-next-election/994341.md?page=3)