'Unbelievable': Pence's comments about assuming power from ill Trump stuns presidential historian

Appearing on MSNBC's "AM Joy" with fill-in host Maria Teresa Kumar, noted presidential historian Michael Bechloss was stunned by comments made by Vice President Mike Pence over whether he would take control of the government from an incapacitated Donald Trump who is currently hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center.

With the president under medical care after contracting the deadly COVID-19 virus that has killed over 210,000 Americans, Beschloss was asked about the 25th Amendment which dictates how the president may be relieved of power during illness or inability to fulfill the demands of the job.

With that in mind, Kumar showed the historian a Fox News clip where Pence was asked if he had been put on "stand by" when the president got sick.

"I'm always informed of the president's movements," Pence replied. "I don't recall being told to be on stand by. I was informed the president had a doctor's appointment."

"Unbelievable, unbelievable," Beschloss exclaimed. "That was -- what you just heard Mike Pence say was exactly what the 25th Amendment was passed by Congress to avoid. "

'The whole point is to have a formal system to transfer power without scaring anyone if the president gets sick or goes under anesthesia," he explained. "He's not under anesthesia, but he is sick right now. Obviously Mike Pence is afraid of looking as he's seizing power and doesn't want to upset his boss."

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