It's certainly harder with the secret service around, but I don't think impossible.
AHC: American President commits suicide
- Thread starter General Mosh
- Start date
It depends, I suppose. At a certain period in history, it would be easy enough to coverup. And there would be people interested in doing so (wives and family, friends, other officials, etc).
It's not really that grand of a conspiracy. The president would be killing himself no matter how he died. If he died of a heart attack or a stroke, he killed himself alone just as much as with a noose, revolver or poison.
If the president killed himself in a public display, it'd probably become like Dwyer. And there'd be the dark humor there was and is about Dwyer.
It's not really that grand of a conspiracy. The president would be killing himself no matter how he died. If he died of a heart attack or a stroke, he killed himself alone just as much as with a noose, revolver or poison.
If the president killed himself in a public display, it'd probably become like Dwyer. And there'd be the dark humor there was and is about Dwyer.
Anaxagoras
Banned
I think Nixon during Watergate is the most likely case. He had clearly crossed the line into being seriously disturbed, to the point where Haig and Kissinger were telling people not to listen to Nixon if he started giving strange-sounding orders.
Which I suppose begs the question: "Has a U.S. President already committed suicide in office?"
Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
The only presidents who could have committed suicide are Harrison and Harding.
Will Kürlich Kerl
Banned
That being said, I've created a thread that deals with Nixon committing suicide::
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=299192
Terminal Illness debate
If a president came down with a terminal illness--and had been involved in any right to die politics in favor of the right of the terminally ill to die--he--or she--might decide to be very public about everything. Most extreme case: A preident with a terminal illness--that isn't mentally incapacitating--decides to run for a second term specificlly to push that issue. (The Vice Presidental nominee would be an especially critical person in THAT election!)
If a president came down with a terminal illness--and had been involved in any right to die politics in favor of the right of the terminally ill to die--he--or she--might decide to be very public about everything. Most extreme case: A preident with a terminal illness--that isn't mentally incapacitating--decides to run for a second term specificlly to push that issue. (The Vice Presidental nominee would be an especially critical person in THAT election!)
Oh dear God. This could be the ultimate JFK conspiracy theory.
What could happen if I wandered into a group of JFK conspiracy theorists and suggested that JFK plotted his own killing? Perhaps because he was terminally ill, or was tired of being in such pain.
I need a full bottle of brain bleach now.
These are the two most interesting I've seen on this thread thus far. I think the first seems the most plausible, and like it might have the most political impact.
Oh dear God. This could be the ultimate JFK conspiracy theory.
What could happen if I wandered into a group of JFK conspiracy theorists and suggested that JFK plotted his own killing? Perhaps because he was terminally ill, or was tired of being in such pain.
I need a full bottle of brain bleach now.
Good Lord. Let me borrow that bottle of brain bleach. Here's an even more chilling thought: Because of the aforementioned difficulty of not being stopped by the Secret Service, the odds of a televised suicide might actually be higher since they'd take more time to reach him.
UrbanRedneck
Banned
They said that Abraham Lincoln suffered from depression so much that many of his friends kept a close watch on him and kept guns away.
Sometimes I wonder the way he would ride around Washington DC alone and unguarded on horseback meant he had a kind of deathwish.
Sometimes I wonder the way he would ride around Washington DC alone and unguarded on horseback meant he had a kind of deathwish.
Presumably the OP and others have read For All Time, in which a US President ("Little Bob" LaFolette) does commit suicide on live national television? In my opinion, that was still within the believable part.
Scenario, divorced president alone in residence. He has discovered that as Governor he allowed the execution of an innocent. Is distraught when he meets the widow and kids.
Why can he not do something to himself in the bathroom?
oh and if he were diabetic maybe he could over does insulin
Why can he not do something to himself in the bathroom?
oh and if he were diabetic maybe he could over does insulin
Even if it wasn't their specific job, if you see the president cocking and un-cocking his revolver while talking about "the futility of it all", you probably mention it to someone and try to keep him away from sharp objects and high windows while making contingency plans.
I get the feeling that if someone commited suicide in office, the first reaction would be "unconfirmed reports of president death, no comments for reason of national security". Get the VP sworn in pronto and have the spin doctors come up with something that won't screw up confidence in the government.
As to whom, could be anyone really. It can be as simple as the feeling that one will lose his legacy and cannot do anything to regain face.