The United States of America recently elected its 45th president, Donald J. Trump. As we all know this has been subject to much controversy, which I'm sure at some point involved death threats towards our president-elect. This got me thinking: how likely is a president to be assassinated?
Out of the 44 presidents we have had so far, 4 have been shot to death, and 12 more have had their assassinations plotted and/or attempted. Therefore, if you were to become president, there is about a 1 in 10 chance of being killed, and 2 in 10 chance of an (unsuccessful) attempt being made at your life.
For any other job (imagine an industrial worker, for example), this statistic would be more than enough to discourage the worker from taking the job. I think it's interesting how despite all that, cycle after cycle there are plenty of candidates participating in a brutal fight to rule a nation for a few years.
Personally, I wouldn't run for president if only to avoid early graying hair.
Out of the 44 presidents we have had so far, 4 have been shot to death, and 12 more have had their assassinations plotted and/or attempted. Therefore, if you were to become president, there is about a 1 in 10 chance of being killed, and 2 in 10 chance of an (unsuccessful) attempt being made at your life.
For any other job (imagine an industrial worker, for example), this statistic would be more than enough to discourage the worker from taking the job. I think it's interesting how despite all that, cycle after cycle there are plenty of candidates participating in a brutal fight to rule a nation for a few years.
Personally, I wouldn't run for president if only to avoid early graying hair.
I think that the likelihood of assassination also depends on public sentiment towards the president, and if they are involved in any of the various corruptions prevalent in government.
ReplyDeleteThis issue also probably depends on the era America is going through at the time of presidency. We've seen how presidents like Herbert Hoover didn't necessarily do anything incorrect, but because of the circumstances of America (like the Great Depression) the expectation was higher and the demands more intense. The president will probably make more choices that make a greater number of people angry, and therefore more people will have reason to plot an assassination. I guess since Trump already has so many death threats, he should hope we don't sink into another Panic or Depression.
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