While the main role of the vice president is as presiding officer to the U.S. president, only eight times has the vice president actually had to step in due to the untimely death of a commander in chief. Author Jared Cohen explores just how these men filled their predecessor’s shoes in his 2019 book, “Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America.”
Arguably, many vice presidents are not chosen with a view of the horizon—to someday occupy the White House and run America. More often than not, as Cohen poses, they are chosen to be a running mate for their loyalty to the presidential candidate; as a political convenience or strategy; or for their age, race, views, and so on, to project a balanced ticket to voters.
