Illness and death in the Oval Office

Under the 25th Amendment, a medically incapacitated president has the option of temporarily transferring power to the vice president. He can reclaim his authority whenever he deems himself fit for duty


Four presidents die in office

1841: William Henry Harrison
1850: Zachary Taylor
1923: Warren G. Harding
1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Four presidents are assassinated

1865: Abraham Lincoln
1881: James A. Garfield
1901: William McKinley
1963: John F. Kennedy
                  

Presidents confronting life-threatening conditions
 
1790: George Washington is feared close to death after he develops pneumonia amid influenza epidemic

1919: Woodrow Wilson is infected by influenza virus during Spanish Flu pandemic. From 1918-20, pandemic kills some 675,000 Americans

1955: Dwight D. Eisenhower suffers heart attack in his first term, stroke in 1957 during second term

1981: Ronald Reagan survives assassination attempt, returns to Oval Office 25 days later

1985: President Reagan invokes 25th Amendment, briefly handing power to Vice President George H.W. Bush during colonoscopy

2002, 2007: President George W. Bush invokes 25th Amendment – hands power to Vice President Dick Cheney during surgery

Oct 2, 2020: President Donald Trump announces on Twitter, that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for coronavirus.
In his eighth decade of life, Trump is reported to have high cholesterol and tips scales at 110kg – considered obese for his height. Eight out of 10 of America’s 207,800 coronavirus deaths have been among those aged 65 and older


Sources: Associated Press, New York Times 
Pictures: Associated Press 
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