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On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump escaped an attempt on his life.
He managed to turn his head at just the right angle so that a bullet shot in his direction grazed his ear rather than hitting him in the head.
But what would happen if he didn't turn his head?
What if Donald Trump was assassinated that day?
Who would replace him?
And could this lead to an American Civil War?
In this video, we're going to go through multiple scenarios on what would happen if Donald Trump got assassinated.
The first one we'll look at is if he actually got shot on July 13.
Now, I need to be clear that at the time of this recording, the assassination attempt is still being investigated.
So some details may change, but what we do know is that the shooter came incredibly close.
Another thing that I want to make clear is that I don't wish ill will toward anyone.
If you're new to the channel, you should know that we often look at news stories and give our hypothetical take on it.
That's all that this is.
In Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, the assassin shot from 140 meters away.
Trump had just turned his head a couple of centimeters.
If he hadn't have done this, it's very likely that he would have been killed by the bullet.
Instead, the shot grazed his ear.
If he hadn't been so lucky, we'd be looking at a completely different world today.
Donald Trump would be dead.
So what would happen next?
One of the most important things that would need to be figured out would be who would take the mantle of the Republican presidential nominee.
It all depends on when this happens.
The answer can change if it were before the Republican National Convention or after.
So in the case of the July 13th assassination attempt, things would get a little more complicated.
Since this event happened right before the Republican National Convention, which was set for July 15th, the delegates involved in selecting the Republican presidential nominee would have to move incredibly fast.
With little time in between the shooting and the convention, the nominee would likely be decided on the convention floor that night.
It would be incredibly messy and frantic.
There'd be backroom deals and public speeches from the hopeful nominees.
Now, since Trump had no strong opposition during the primaries, almost everyone could be considered.
It would be like going back to square one.
Even people who didn't run in the primaries could be nominated.
This would be a night full of bids for power.
And whoever's left standing would be the Republican nominee, who would then run for president.
Now, there are some other scenarios that we'll get into in a bit, but what might happen outside of politics?
Well, the answer to that is a lot more unknown and potentially terrifying.
Donald Trump was seen yelling fight after he got shot, and there's a good chance his supporters would do just that.
Now, we're not saying everyone, but the extreme fringe of his base might possibly engage.
Just look what happened on January 6th, 2021.
Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol building.
This was after their emotions were stoked by talk about a stolen election, a claim that was proven to be false.
So what would happen if their leader was assassinated?
Well, they'd likely be looking for someone to blame, potentially a group of people or the opposing party.
Donald Trump has incredibly passionate supporters, more passionate than what we've seen from almost any other political figure in the past.
There's a good chance there could be outbursts of violence and civil unrest.
Hopefully, this violence would be contained to small pockets of the country and not become a full-on civil war.
With Biden still being president and commander in chief, he's in control of the military.
If things got out of hand, hopefully they'd be able to put a stop to it.
And hopefully no bigger militias would form either.
Now, even without any violence, Trump would be idolized even more than he is today.
Supporters would make him a martyr.
And if some people on the left were happy that this happened, this would create an even bigger political divide across the country.
The new Republican nominee would certainly use this as fuel to energize voters, turning him or her into an even stronger candidate.
And more Trump supporters might be inspired to vote in the election now, even without him in the race.
But what if Trump wasn't dead but incapacitated?
Well, technically the rules and laws that are in place would still apply, but there could be more nuance.
If there's a chance Trump comes back and he's healthy, then the party would likely debate whether or not he could continue as the nominee.
They'd also consider if he'd be in good enough shape to be sworn in if he potentially became president.
Now, the story is a little bit different if the assassination attempt happened after the RNC on July 15th.
Donald Trump would be elected as their nominee.
So what would happen if he were to die before the election?
Well, you might think that his running mate would be automatically elevated.
So his current choice for vice president, J.D.
Vance, would become the presidential nominee.
But that's not the case.
The nominee for president would still be voted upon by the Republican Party.
They might go back to square one and reconvene the national convention, or they might just select a new candidate.
There's a good chance that Trump's running mate would become the presidential nominee, but it's not a guarantee.
Other party members might want to get into the mix.
Now, the same rules would apply if Trump won the election on November 5th.
That would make him the president-elect until Inauguration Day on January 20th.
If he were to die between those dates, the vice president-elect doesn't automatically become president.
Since Trump wouldn't officially be sworn in, the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to become president if the current one dies, wouldn't be applicable.
Now, this got me thinking.
Could anything like this potentially delay the election?
Well, technically it could, but it's incredibly unlikely.
Election Day is set by federal law, and it's November 5th.
In order for this to change, it would need to be voted on in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.
The president would need to sign off as well.
But this can only happen if both parties are in agreement, which seems unlikely, especially given the political divide gripping the United States.
Also, this would only delay the election by a couple of weeks.
As the Constitution states, a president needs to be sworn in by January 20th of the following year.
Failing that, there would be no president, and things could get really ugly.
Now, this is how the election would be handled, which boils down to a lot of bureaucracy and systems we already have in place.
What happens next could be extreme civil unrest, violence, anger, or potential civil war.
It's safe to say this would be a scary time for America, for a number of reasons.
On the other hand, maybe a violent act like this might inspire Americans to put down their weapons and come together.
But considering the political division, that seems unlikely.
Now, this is not a fun hypothetical scenario.
Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, it would be a scary time for Americans, and for people around the world.
Let's just hope this assassination attempt doesn't lead to any further violent acts.
I know I don't want to end up in a World War III, but that sounds like a story for another What If.