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I am flabbergasted that they mentioned Biden being the 46th president. This implies that the joint chiefs of staff do not believe Trump will be removed before inauguration when it is very much a political discussion right now.

Is it reasonable to suspect Trump will stay on until inauguration? Sure. But Trump could have a stroke and straight up die tonight, making Pence president for a week.

It’s fascinating to me why they didn’t simply say Biden will become our next president.




What difference does it make? As of writing, he will be the 46th.


I would say you're being pedantic, but your emotions tell me there's something more going on?


Even if Pence is taking over Trump as President, the number doesn't increment. It doesn't imply anything.


The number incremented when Ford took over when Nixon resigned. Why do you think it would not increment if Pence took over the remainder of Trump’s term?


I unfortunately am not able to find the source. Basically, there were provisions for resigning vs. impeachment. Nixon resigned before impeachment.

Trying to scour wikipedia over this. I'll comment here if I find the source.


For completeness another interesting case is Grover Cleveland. He served two terms, but they were not consecutive.

Some lists count him as both 22nd and 24th, and some count him as just 22nd.


Nope Pence would become 46 and Biden would be 47.


When JFK died, did Johnson not increment the count? That’s what I’m saying here. No one can be 100% sure Trump will be alive next week.




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