#presidential-succession

#presidential-succession

For now, Rodriguez, 56, has taken the reins of the country. Venezuela's Supreme Court declared Maduro's temporary absence on Friday afternoon and ordered that Delcy Rodriguez, as vice president, assume the presidency due to the president's forced absence. The Venezuelan Constitution, according to Article 234, states that the vice president will fill the president's temporary absence for up to 90 days, a period that can be extended for another 90 days by decision of the National Assembly.

It can be hard to work out what might be going through Donald Trump's head at the best of times, but lately his actions have seemed to be increasingly bizarre and reckless. However, all of those actions become much easier to understand with one simple perspective shift: Trump knows he is dying, he doesn't have much time, and he won't have to face any consequences, at least not in this life.

"I would love to do it. I have my best numbers ever," Trump told reporters, referring to recent polls that he claims show his popularity. (In reality, the average poll shows Trump with a -6.8 approval rating.)

Convicted criminal Steve Bannon touched off the latest round of discussion regarding a potential third term for Trump when he told The Economist: "Well he's going to get a third term. So, Trump '28, Trump is going to be president in '28 and people ought to just get accommodated with that." When informed that the 22nd Amendment explicitly prevents Trump from running again, Bannon said: "There's many different alternatives.... At the appropriate time, we'll lay out what the plan is."