What actually happens if a US president dies in office as JD Vance has ‘strange’ response about Trump’s health

A total of eight US presidents have died while in office, with some passing away from natural causes while others the result of assassination.

Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance spoke about whether he would be prepared for the role, should there be the need for him to take over as president unexpectedly.

Of course, there's nothing concrete to suggest that current president, Donald Trump, 79, is anything but the picture of health and there's been nothing said that would suggest any health issues.

However, following Vance's comments, people have been left wondering what actually happens when a president dies during office.

Let's take a look at what happens.

What happens if a president dies in office?

Ultimately, if a president passes away, the role will immediately be handed to the vice-president, and a new vice-president must then be selected.

The new president nominates a VP candidate, who must then be confirmed to have the majority vote in Congress.

The 25th Amendment explains: "In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

"Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress."

Which presidents have died in office?

Sadly, four presidents have been assassinated while in office - Abraham Lincoln, who was shot in 1865, James Garfield, who died in 1881, William McKinley, who was shot in 1901 and John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

Meanwhile, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warren G. Harding, Zachary Taylor and William Henry Harrison all died while serving as president.

What did Vance say about Trump's health?

JD Vance, was quizzed about Trump's health and if he would be prepared to step up if needed.

"I've had a lot of on-the-job training in the last 200 days, but the president is in incredibly good health. He's got incredible energy," Vance, 41, told USA Today.

"While most of the people who work around the president of the United States are younger than he is, I think that we find that he's actually the last person to go to sleep, he's the last person making phone calls at night, and he's the first person who wakes up and is the first person making phone calls in the morning."

VP JD Vance said he is prepared to step in if “a terrible tragedy” were to befall President Trump, while emphasizing that Trump is “in incredibly good health” and brimming with “incredible energy.”

Vance pointed to his seven months of “on-the-job training” as readiness to… pic.twitter.com/m7UPwrn98S

— AF Post (@AFpost) August 28, 2025

Vance did note that 'terrible tragedies happen', but he feels 'very confident that [Trump] is in good shape' and that he will serve the remainder of his term as president.

He added: "If God forbid there is a terrible tragedy, I can't think of better on-the-job training than what I've gotten in the last 200 days."

People have since reacted to Vance's comments and hailed them as 'strange'.

One person said: "Strange thing to say as the person who is VP, no?"

A second suggested that Vance was 'foreshadowing' and that his reply was 'ominous'.

Somebody else wrote on Twitter: "What an incredibly odd thing to say."