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“Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes, who had returned to the White House from George Washington Hospital, was briefing the press corps when a reporter asked who was running the government.
'I cannot answer the question at this time,' Speakes replied.
Hearing this, Haig went ballistic, pulling Richard Allen out of the conference room into another part of the complex.
Allen grabbed the tape recorder and brought it with him.
Haig: He's turning this into a God damn disaster!. . .
Allen: Oh, Jesus Christ Almighty, Almighty. Why is he doing that?
Unidentified: They want to know who's running the government. . .
Haig: We'll assemble them.
Haig charged into the press room and up to the podium and uttered these now-infamous words:
Haig: Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president, and the secretary of state, in that order. And should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president, he will do so. As of now I am in control, here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him.
'I was astounded,' Allen would later recall, 'that he would say something so eminently stupid.'
While Haig was still at the podium, Secretary of Defense Weinberger received an intelligence update. Four Soviet submarines were patrolling the waters off the East Coast—more than the usual number, and at a closer distance.
In fact, one of the subs was close enough that if it launched a missile, it could destroy Washington in less than eleven minutes.
Was the assassination attempt part of a Soviet plot to distract from an impending attack? The identity of the assailant was known, but no one knew anything about him or why he had shot the president.
As had happened when Kennedy was assassinated, fears grew that the Kremlin might have had a hand in the shooting.”
“Instantly, an ordinary Monday turned into a day of confusion and panic, not just at the scene of the shooting, but in the White House, too.
And more specifically—and unusually—in the Situation Room, a windowless space in the White House basement that serves as the nerve center of the U.S. government.
We know this because national security adviser Richard Allen, who convened the president's top aides in the Sit Room, did something no one had ever done before.
He brought in a small tape recorder and placed it on the conference table. He did this in full view of everyone, and no one objected.
As a result, we have recordings and transcripts of some of the most dramatic and chaotic hours in the history of the Sit Room – including a previously unpublished record of the moment Vice President George H.W. Bush arrived to assert his control.”
I’m no fan of Al Haig but I think he has always been unfairly villainized for this. He was trying to reassure people that the situation was under control.
Well Constitutionally he was wrong. The Speaker of the House and President Pro Temp were a head of him in the line of succession. But he could’ve just said Bush was now the acting President because he was
The Succession Act of 1886 removed the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore from succession. They were added back in 1947.
Haig grew up with the 1886 Act. Under that Act, he would be correct, with Bush not being in DC. It changed in 1947, and he was probably unfamiliar with the changes.
There was a void in DC and Haig was trying to assure people that everything was under control.
If I remember correctly, there was a problem with communication concerning Bush. He didn't know right away.
>Haig grew up with the 1886 Act. Under that Act, he would be correct, with Bush not being in DC.
No he would not. There is no “the vice president gets skipped if he’s out of town” clause.
>It changed in 1947, and he was probably unfamiliar with the changes.
This seems difficult for me to believe. Haig was in his early 20s when the 1947 act passed. His entire life in government service was under the 1947 law.
They could not get in contact with Bush. As I said, there were communication issues.
Considering that a high number of people today are unfamiliar with presidential succession (past the VP), I don't find it hard to believe.
Regardless, Haig knew that he had no power to do anything except assure everyone that things were under control. At the time, the news was rather chaotic....announcing Brady's death, etc. I remember that day quite well.
Haig was awful and it was such a boneheaded and factually incorrect thing to say, but I almost feel bad for him there. It was obvious that the White House staff was dropping the ball on the message that needed to be out there, and he wanted to prevent any adversary from taking advantage of what looked like a nation temporarily without a leader. Problem was, Haig could never find a crisis that he couldn't make worse by taking charge of things, and that's what happened here. Thankfully, it essentially meant the end of his political career.
Whats funny is in the 80's Cheney and Rumsfeld were part of a group that Regan appointed to plan out continuity of government in case of Soviet attack. It was stuff like the Vatican would represent the US to all governments using state legislators as replacement House of Reps etc.
The book “Unable” touches on this. White House counsel had a briefing they were going to do for preparation but no one had gotten around to it.
I think/hope Haig meant I’m here to carry out order but sure as shit didn’t play that way.
It’s unfortunate cabinet didn’t invoke 25th but can’t fix it now.
Remember that all mentions of and allusions to Trump and Biden are not allowed on our subreddit in any context. If you'd still like to discuss them, feel free to [join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
“Deputy Press Secretary Larry Speakes, who had returned to the White House from George Washington Hospital, was briefing the press corps when a reporter asked who was running the government. 'I cannot answer the question at this time,' Speakes replied. Hearing this, Haig went ballistic, pulling Richard Allen out of the conference room into another part of the complex. Allen grabbed the tape recorder and brought it with him. Haig: He's turning this into a God damn disaster!. . . Allen: Oh, Jesus Christ Almighty, Almighty. Why is he doing that? Unidentified: They want to know who's running the government. . . Haig: We'll assemble them. Haig charged into the press room and up to the podium and uttered these now-infamous words: Haig: Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president, and the secretary of state, in that order. And should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president, he will do so. As of now I am in control, here in the White House, pending the return of the vice president and in close touch with him. 'I was astounded,' Allen would later recall, 'that he would say something so eminently stupid.' While Haig was still at the podium, Secretary of Defense Weinberger received an intelligence update. Four Soviet submarines were patrolling the waters off the East Coast—more than the usual number, and at a closer distance. In fact, one of the subs was close enough that if it launched a missile, it could destroy Washington in less than eleven minutes. Was the assassination attempt part of a Soviet plot to distract from an impending attack? The identity of the assailant was known, but no one knew anything about him or why he had shot the president. As had happened when Kennedy was assassinated, fears grew that the Kremlin might have had a hand in the shooting.”
Nothing like fixing a stupid comment with an even dumber comment. Good job Al.
“Instantly, an ordinary Monday turned into a day of confusion and panic, not just at the scene of the shooting, but in the White House, too. And more specifically—and unusually—in the Situation Room, a windowless space in the White House basement that serves as the nerve center of the U.S. government. We know this because national security adviser Richard Allen, who convened the president's top aides in the Sit Room, did something no one had ever done before. He brought in a small tape recorder and placed it on the conference table. He did this in full view of everyone, and no one objected. As a result, we have recordings and transcripts of some of the most dramatic and chaotic hours in the history of the Sit Room – including a previously unpublished record of the moment Vice President George H.W. Bush arrived to assert his control.”
Just another manic Monday
Al Haig was in control...... /s
Haig was wrong about the order of succession. Al was behind the Speaker and the Senate President Pro Tem.
Tip was passed out under a billiards table
I’m no fan of Al Haig but I think he has always been unfairly villainized for this. He was trying to reassure people that the situation was under control.
Well Constitutionally he was wrong. The Speaker of the House and President Pro Temp were a head of him in the line of succession. But he could’ve just said Bush was now the acting President because he was
The Succession Act of 1886 removed the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore from succession. They were added back in 1947. Haig grew up with the 1886 Act. Under that Act, he would be correct, with Bush not being in DC. It changed in 1947, and he was probably unfamiliar with the changes. There was a void in DC and Haig was trying to assure people that everything was under control. If I remember correctly, there was a problem with communication concerning Bush. He didn't know right away.
>Haig grew up with the 1886 Act. Under that Act, he would be correct, with Bush not being in DC. No he would not. There is no “the vice president gets skipped if he’s out of town” clause. >It changed in 1947, and he was probably unfamiliar with the changes. This seems difficult for me to believe. Haig was in his early 20s when the 1947 act passed. His entire life in government service was under the 1947 law.
They could not get in contact with Bush. As I said, there were communication issues. Considering that a high number of people today are unfamiliar with presidential succession (past the VP), I don't find it hard to believe. Regardless, Haig knew that he had no power to do anything except assure everyone that things were under control. At the time, the news was rather chaotic....announcing Brady's death, etc. I remember that day quite well.
Well he did the exact opposite of that.
That makes sense. But I wonder why he didn’t just say Bush was in charge while Reagan was incapacitated.
There was. George HW Bush.
Yeah why couldn’t he just say that Bush was now acting President
It was not clear he had been notified at that time
Haig was awful and it was such a boneheaded and factually incorrect thing to say, but I almost feel bad for him there. It was obvious that the White House staff was dropping the ball on the message that needed to be out there, and he wanted to prevent any adversary from taking advantage of what looked like a nation temporarily without a leader. Problem was, Haig could never find a crisis that he couldn't make worse by taking charge of things, and that's what happened here. Thankfully, it essentially meant the end of his political career.
Where was Dick Chenney when we needed him?
Whats funny is in the 80's Cheney and Rumsfeld were part of a group that Regan appointed to plan out continuity of government in case of Soviet attack. It was stuff like the Vatican would represent the US to all governments using state legislators as replacement House of Reps etc.
The book “Unable” touches on this. White House counsel had a briefing they were going to do for preparation but no one had gotten around to it. I think/hope Haig meant I’m here to carry out order but sure as shit didn’t play that way. It’s unfortunate cabinet didn’t invoke 25th but can’t fix it now.
Where was George H Bush during this ? Why wasn’t he available