A senior White House official claimed that US President Donald Trump left detailed instructions to his Vice President, J.D. Vance, in the event of an assassination attempt or other emergency during his second term.Sebastian Gorka, who serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism, made the comments during an interview on the “Pod Force One” podcast hosted by Miranda Devine.“There is a letter in the drawer of the Resolute desk addressed to the vice president in case something happens to him,” Gorka said, according to the New York Post.He added: “We have protocols, trust me. Not ones that I can discuss, but we have protocols.”Gorka spoke about succession arrangements while discussing security concerns surrounding Trump’s ongoing visit to China.
These statements come amid Trump’s visit to China
Trump is currently in Beijing for high-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping focusing on trade relations, artificial intelligence and broader geopolitical tensions.Gorka dismissed concerns that foreign powers might try to target Trump during the trip, despite calling the president an “existential threat to China.”
“He alone stands between them and world domination, so they have every reason in the world to take him out,” Gorka said, before adding that he did not believe such an attack would happen.“I have absolutely no fear of doing something,” he said. “The president, in my estimation, is very safe.”Gorka also praised Trump’s global influence, saying: “Everyone wants recognition from this guy. This is the most powerful individual we’ve seen since the likes of Eisenhower.”
Trump has survived several assassination attempts
These statements come after several assassination attempts targeting Trump in recent years.Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire and struck the president in the ear before Secret Service personnel shot him dead.Another suspect, Ryan Roth, was later arrested after he hid with a rifle near Trump’s golf course in Florida.
He was charged and later sentenced to life imprisonment, the report stated.More recently, another incident occurred during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington in April, when a suspect named Cole Thomas Allen breached a security checkpoint and opened fire before security personnel could subdue him.Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and J.D. Vance were safely evacuated.Under the US Constitution, the Vice President is the first in line to assume the presidency. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 determines the order of succession after the vice president.
