Did Nancy Pelosi say "I am ready to take my rightful place as President of these United States?" No, that's not true. A website posted a story claiming that the Speaker of the House said she was "ready to take my rightful place as President of these United States." The article presents no evidence that Pelosi made that comment or any others about taking over as the president of the United States. She had not released a statement through her office or on social media with these comments. The article went viral shortly after President Donald Trump announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 on October 1, 2020.
The story appeared as an article (archived here) where it was published by Chaospost.com on October 1, 2020 under the title "Nancy Pelosi: I Am Ready To Take My Rightful Place As President Of These United States". It opened:
Nancy Pelosi has said that she is ready to take her rightful place as President of the United States should the election not be decided by next year.
The sentiments expressed by Pelosi are not quotes within the story either on or off the record and seem to be completely fabricated. The article did not have direct comments from Pelosi and the quotes were not published by any other outlet.
The article set up Pelosi's supposed plans to take over Trump's job if there is a problem with the November 3, 2020 presidential election.
Nancy Pelosi has said that she is ready to take her rightful place as President of the United States should the election not be decided by next year. She is concerned that the votes will be counted in time and that she will be the ruler of this country.
She's also taking steps to prepare the house to vote should the electric not be able to form a majority for President of the United States. This is something that hasn't been done in over 118 years."
The article uses the word "electric" instead of "electorate" while debating what would happen if the government was forced to handle the election results if there is not a majority vote for president.
That is not how the presidential election works in the United States. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of votes in the Electoral College, the constitution states the "contingent election" for president is decided by a vote by the House of Representatives and for vice president decided by a vote by the Senate, the Associated Press reported on September 16, 2020. The only time this has happened in American history was in 1825 and the winner was John Quincy Adams.
Through the Presidential Succession Act Pelosi could become President but it is quite unlikely. The Speaker of the House is third in line to fill the office of President in case the President and the Vice President are both unable to perform the job due to "Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability". But according to the Twenty-Fifth Amendment if the Vice President becomes President he also has the ability to nominate a new Vice President first (who then needs confirmation by Congress) so that could complicate matters further. And with just over a month to go before the next Presidential (and House) election it seems quite unlikely this scenario will come to pass.
Lead Stories has reached out to the Speaker for comment and will update the story when response is received.
