Who will ever forget Al Haig telling the world that he was "in charge". Funny, I can visualize him doing this but can't remember why.
Reagan had been shot and Bush 41 was out of the White House.
to be precise, I believe Haig said, "I am in charge here ... at the White House." He didn't say he was in charge of the country (as the liberal press distorts his statement). He did specifically mention the White House and I believe at the time, he was the senior person there. He may have stated that way to try and calm things down. If you remember that day, the press was quite crazy with rumors and questions. It wasn't a big deal, but the press went stupid over it.
Remember, he was Sec State at the time, and thought that he was next in the line of succession after Nixon and Agnew resigned. Under the US Constitution, the Speaker of the House--not Haig--was "in charge."
Reagan was shot and Haig pulled that "I'm in charge" gag.