According to American news network CNN, a Barack Obama appointee would take over if the president-elect, Donald Trump, along with other leaders, were killed at his inauguration.
The network has been accused of inciting violence against Trump after airing a report titled 'Disaster could put Obama appointee in Oval Office', speculating on what might happen if the billionaire, vice president-elect Mike Pence and the Congressional leaders were all killed during the ceremony on Friday.
On the day of the inauguration, a 'designated presidential successor' who has been appointed by Obama's administration will not attend and will be ready to step in if something happens.
Donald Trump has previously discussed the assassination of his political opponents. Credit: ABC
CNN's report concluded that this would mean a Democrat would take the vice-president's place in the White House in the event of such an attack. Trump has speculated on the assassination of his political opponents in the past.
John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center said: "Here you have a very confusing line of succession.
"In the inauguration, you have two lines of succession. One from the Barack Obama administration, which is still in place, and one which really won't be in place until Donald Trump is inaugurated, comes into office and actually formally nominates them and the senate confirms his people.
"You might actually end up with a president from the prior administration, because of a tragedy."
However, such an attack is unlikely, as every aspect of America's homeland security, including 28,000 law enforcement personnel, will be on the ground in Washington DC for Obama's hand over of office to Trump.
That said, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson, every president's life since John F. Kennedy has been threatened with assassination and more than 20 attempts to kill sitting and former presidents and presidents-elect are known.
Four presidents in total have actually been killed while in office...
RIPresident
Four sitting presidents have been killed, all of them by gunshot: Abraham Lincoln (the 16th President), James A. Garfield (the 20th President), William McKinley (the 25th President) and John F. Kennedy (the 35th President).
Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated. He was shot by stage actor John Wilkes Booth while he was attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre on Good Friday, April 14, 1865.
Coming as the American Civil War was drawing to a close, the assassination of Lincoln was planned and carried out in a bid to revive the Confederate cause in the civil war.
On the day of the assassination, Lincoln had told his bodyguard, William H. Crook, that he had been having dreams of himself being assassinated for three straight nights.
Lincoln was succeeded by Andrew Johnson, as he was vice president at the time of the assassination.
Credit: PA Images
The most recent presidential assassination was of John F. Kennedy, who was shot on 22 November 1963 as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas.
Official reports have maintained that Lee Harvey Oswald acted as a lone assassin, however, Oswald himself was killed soon after by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, leading to numerous conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination.
Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded to the presidency and took the presidential oath of office aboard Air Force One less than an hour after Kennedy died.
Trump Already A Target?
Credit: PA Images
A British man was jailed for 12 months in December for trying to grab a policeman's gun at a Trump rally in an alleged bid to kill the president-elect in June.
Michael Sandford, 20, tried to snatch the weapon in the run-up to the US election as Trump was addressing supporters at a Las Vegas casino.
Sandford allegedly told officers after his arrest that he planned to shoot the tycoon, and could have faced up to 20 years in prison if he had been convicted of both charges at trial.
In tears in the dock, Sandford told the court: "I know saying sorry is not enough. I really do feel awful about what I did. I wish there was some way to make things better. I have cost taxpayers so much money. I feel terrible."
Sandford did not get hold of the gun and no shots were fired before he was arrested, but prosecutors had asked for a sentence of up to 18 months.
Featured Image Credit: PA ImagesTopics: Trump