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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 195

Shake Up

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 195: Shake Up

What If Trump Died?

September 2, 2025 · 2:19 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Jonathan Last: “If Trump is the sitting president… then the line of succession is clear. His vice president becomes president.”

“Of course, that’s not the end of the story. Georgy Malenkov was Stalin’s deputy and he assumed the premiership of the Soviet Union immediately following Stalin’s death.”

“But being handed the office of leadership is not the same has having control of a movement. Malenkov was a dullard and Nikita Khrushchev outmaneuvered him over the next 24 months, eventually ousting him from the Politburo.”

“If, just for the sake of argument, JD Vance was Trump’s vice president when he passed, I would not assume Vance to be anything more than a temporary leader of the Trumpist movement. That dude has Malenkov written all over him.”

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