The Most Useless Veep in U.S. History (It’s Not Mike Pence)
On November 23, 1919, while addressing the Loyal Order of Moose in Atlanta, Vice President Thomas Marshall thought he had become president—for about ten minutes.
Easily tricked by a “false report” that President Woodrow Wilson had died—after the president had genuinely suffered a series of strokes weeks earlier—Marshall later admitted: “I dreaded the great task.” This reluctance immobilized him throughout Wilson’s infirmity. It made Marshall one of America’s worst vice presidents, which is like being ranked as the most useless desk ornament.
Marshall won the first second term as vice president in 88 years by joking about his position’s “utter uselessness and frivolity.” He often described two sons. One went to sea and drowned. The other became vice president. “Neither son was ever heard from again.” Marshall called himself “the Wilson administration’s spare tire—to be used only in case of emergency.”