Woodrow Wilson, two nights before Election Day, 1916, wrote a letter in which he communicates a plan in case he loses his reelection campaign. Professor Matthew Waxman explains on Lawfare:
In his early life as a scholar, Wilson had written about the structural defects of the U.S. constitutional system for managing crises. So it should be no surprise that he thought about them as president. What is surprising are the actions he planned. Assuming that they went along with this move, in the interim between Hughes’s election and inauguration, Wilson would appoint Hughes to replace Robert Lansing as his secretary of state. Once Hughes was in that office, Wilson and Vice President Thomas Marshall would resign, whereupon, according to succession rules at the time, Hughes would become president early.
Wilson had his flaws, but at least he was prepared to sacrifice for his country. Should we expect the same from President Trump, if he fails to perform a miracle and win reelection?
And it’s a lovely little story.
