Everyone has been talking about the presidents lately, right? It’s on all the news and every channel. But how much do we really think about the vice president? After all, the vice president is the second-in-command and also a very important part of history. So let’s take a look at some interesting facts about former vice presidents you may not have known before!
1. They’re basically waiting to move up
While you may not hear much about the vice president, they are literally just a step away from becoming president if something were to happen to the current commander-in-chief. At the moment, Kamala Harris has made history as the first Asian-American vice president. Joe Biden will also go down in history as being the oldest man to become president, at 78-years-old. The presidency is a huge slot to fill, and our vice presidents really never know when it could happen.
2. It wasn’t always a big honor
Today, we hear all about who is running for the position of vice president and what their qualifications are for the job. However, it wasn’t really a big deal back in the day; in fact, the vice presidency was more like a consolation prize than anything! The way it worked between 1788 and 1800 was like this- whoever received the second most votes from the Electoral College became the vice president.
3. They used to pay for housing
Today, the vice president and their family gets the honor of living in the Naval Observatory. However, years ago the VP stayed in his own house while in office. This changed in 1977. Walter Mondale, the vice president at the time, decided to live in the Observatory with his family. He was the first VP to do so, starting the tradition that we all hear about today.
4. Some have had odd jobs
Mitt Romney ran for president in 2012 with running mate Paul Ryan by his side. You’d think political jobs would be all there was in Ryan’s history, but you’d be wrong! Ryan was a salesman for the hot dog company Oscar Mayer. Remember the Wienermobile? Yes, Ryan drove the company car during his time there! What an odd but amusing job for a politician!
5. Joe Biden was known as “Amtrak Joe”
Joe Biden was the vice president for Barack Obama from 2009 through 2017. Before that, he was a senator who took the Amtrak train to work for 30 years. His commute, which was an 80-minute train ride one way, caused him to become close friends with plenty of Amtrak employees. He even hosted annual Christmas dinners for many of the crew members he made friends with through those long years.
6. John Adams also had a weird nickname
The first president of the United States was George Washington, who served with John Adams as the very first vice president. Adams earned the name “His Rotundity” because he was overweight and said to have an arrogant attitude. We’re wondering just how much he enjoyed that one!
