EDITORIAL: Will Trump pick a lunatic to be his VP?
Loyalty is Trump's top priority
Republican voters have made a now-convicted felon, Donald Trump, their nominee for president this year, leading to a rematch with Joe Biden. With the election just months away, now is the time to talk about who Donald Trump might select as his VP pick, and of course, it will be Sarah Palin.
Just kidding.
The truth is that the shortlist for Trump’s VP has and continues to evolve. The person who Trump has in mind today may be different from the person he had in mind six months ago. Trump’s opinions are often guided by what the last person he spoke to told him. We don’t have any insider information on who Trump’s VP pick will be, but what we can guarantee is that Trump's VP choice will either be a fervent supporter of the MAGA movement or someone who allows him to pursue his agenda unimpeded.
Donald Trump Jr. has emphasized that his father is searching for a vice-presidential candidate who embodies loyalty and a fighting spirit, somebody who would be willing to publicly defend him, as figures like Doug Burgum, Vivek Ramaswamy, Rick Scott, and J.D. Vance have done. Trump will avoid repeating the mistake of choosing someone like Mike Pence, who would certify election results against his wishes. He seeks a compliant partner who will follow his lead without question, valuing loyalty above all else. While there is speculation that Trump might consider a woman or a person of color for optics, loyalty remains his top priority.
Who It WON’T Be
Several names have been floated who I do not think will be selected as Trump’s running mate:
Tulsi Gabbard: She’s too transparently opportunistic. If I were Trump, I’d have serious concerns about her loyalty. Trump likely wants someone more ideological, a true believer. Tulsi isn’t motivated by MAGA; she’s motivated purely by her own self-interest.
Marjorie Taylor Greene: In some respects, MTG appears the most obvious VP choice for Trump, being perhaps his staunchest sycophant in elected office. However, Trump recognizes she's excessively polarizing with considerable baggage. He seeks someone ideologically aligned like Greene but with a lower profile. Trump also prefers his VP not to overshadow him in attention; he craves the spotlight for himself.
Tucker Carlson: Some people seem to have forgotten that in the aftermath of January 6th, Tucker privately trashed Donald Trump in a series of leaked text messages, saying that he “hates him passionately.” Loyalty is the most important thing for Trump, especially in the context of January 6th, so Tucker is likely disqualified.
Katie Britt: After her bizarre State of the Union rebuttal, some speculated that Alabama Senator Katie Britt is on Trump’s shortlist. I actually think Trump would find it difficult to stomach Britt, and to be honest, I don’t blame him.
Kari Lake: Bottom line: Kari Lake is a loser. No matter how much she may cope, she lost to Katie Hobbs. Lake arguably would have had a great shot at being picked for VP if she had actually won in 2022, but as it stands, she seems like a pretty far-fetched choice. She’s also running her own campaign for Senate this year, so she’d have to drop out of that to be Trump’s running mate.
Nikki Haley: She might be a great choice from a strategic perspective, but there’s just way too much bad blood there, and she definitely doesn’t meet Trump’s loyalty litmus test. I doubt that she is in serious consideration. Even if she were offered VP, it’s not obvious that she would say yes.
Kristi Noem: Do we really need to explain this one? In fairness to Noem, she was once widely reported to be at the top of Trump’s shortlist. But even the Republican Party isn’t bloodthirsty enough to put a dog killer on the ticket. Her claim to have met with Kim Jong Un, which is an obvious lie, would also attract unwanted scrutiny if selected as VP. Maybe she’s still under consideration for a cabinet position, but if she is actually selected as VP, it would be one of the greatest political blunders of all time.
RFK Jr.: Some have speculated that Trump will pick RFK Jr. From a strategy perspective, it makes sense. But I don’t think RFK Jr. has any interest. He has claimed publicly that emissaries from the Trump campaign asked him to serve as running mate. Although Trump staff have denied it, RFK Jr. probably wouldn’t reveal this publicly if he was actually interested. He also would have dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump by now if this was his plan.
Vivek Ramaswamy: I think that Vivek will have a role in the Trump administration, but it won’t be as VP. The more people saw of Vivek, the less they liked him. Vivek is very loyal and well-spoken, but his loyalty hasn’t really been put to the test. He’s trying too hard. He has veered into extremism, saying January 6th was an inside job, and could be a liability for Trump in the same way Marjorie Taylor Greene would be. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Vivek, but it won’t be as Trump’s VP.
Many other names have been floated, including Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham, Greg Abbott, Elise Stefanik, Marsha Blackburn, Glenn Youngkin, Byron Donalds, Nancy Mace, and Rick Scott.
I don’t think any of these people have the "it" factor. Leave a comment if you disagree!
Who It MIGHT Be
Now let’s discuss who might actually be on Trump’s shortlist:
Doug Burgum is clearly eager to be Donald Trump’s Vice President, possibly running for President as an audition for the role. Doug Burgum is obscenely wealthy, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Some estimates even suggest that he is a billionaire. This impresses Trump. Like Trump, Burgum is considered a political outsider, having a background in tech (he sold his software company to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion). Burgum is also the founder of a real estate development firm, so he has a similar personal and professional background as Trump. Burgum and Trump have reportedly become friends in recent months, to the extent that Trump has friends. Since dropping out of the Republican primary, Burgum has played his cards well. He’s been on-message as a surrogate for Trump without drawing too much attention to himself. Trump probably views Burgum as reliable and low-drama. Unlike Vivek Ramaswamy, Burgum isn’t overly sycophantic, but he is undoubtedly loyal. Trump has even noted, “He was a supporter of my two campaigns. He’s a very rich man.” This loyalty and wealth are appealing to Trump.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders stands out as an underrated choice for Trump’s VP. Devoted to the MAGA agenda, she served as Trump’s longest-serving White House Press Secretary from 2017-2019. Trump clearly thinks that she represents him well, otherwise he wouldn’t have kept her around for that long. Unlike Kari Lake, Sanders is a winner, having become the Governor of Arkansas in 2022 on a MAGA platform with Trump’s endorsement. She remains absolutely loyal, never publicly criticizing Trump, and appears to be a genuine believer in MAGA. Sanders maintains a low profile, unlike figures such as Marjorie Taylor Greene. As a woman, she offers positive optics. Though some might argue she doesn’t meet Trump’s physical expectations, her recent weight loss might mitigate this concern. On top of being a devoted MAGA sycophant, Sarah Huckabee Sanders comes from a Republican political dynasty of her own, the Huckabee family. Her father, Mike Huckabee, is also a deranged Trump cultist who served as Governor of Arkansas and ran for President in 2008 and 2016. This might make Huckabee Sanders seem more relatable and trustworthy to Trump.
Marco Rubio may seem an unlikely choice for Trump’s VP, given their past conflicts during the 2016 primary, where Rubio insulted Trump and questioned his qualifications. However, since then, Rubio has apologized for insulting Trump and has earned a reputation as a loyal surrogate. Trump may have some lingering doubts about Rubio’s loyalty, but Rubio is arguably the biggest “get” for the Trump campaign given that he is a fluent Spanish speaker, which could be a valuable asset. He is also the son of immigrants and may be a convincing voice in helping to legitimize Trump’s cruel border policy.
J.D. Vance is a total Trump suck-up, but it was not always this way. Vance was once an outspoken critic of Trump. In a 2016 USA Today column, Vance wrote that “Trump’s actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd.” He has called Trump noxious, reprehensible, and once even compared him to Adolf Hitler. Nonetheless, much like Tulsi Gabbard, Vance has become a MAGA grifter. He has apologized to Trump for criticizing him and has reiterated many of his false claims about the 2020 election being stolen. Trump ultimately endorsed Vance, who he referred to as “JP,” in his 2022 Senate race, where he ran on a MAGA agenda. Multiple sources have reported that Vance is under consideration for Trump’s VP. While he may find a role within Trump’s administration, questions remain about whether he truly meets Trump’s loyalty criteria.
Tim Scott, is reportedly on Trump’s shortlist, but as with Rubio and Vance, I have some doubts about whether or not he actually meets Trump’s loyalty litmus test. Crucially, Tim Scott has said that he believes Mike Pence did the right thing on January 6th and that he would have voted to certify the 2020 election results if he were VP. Scott has criticized Trump’s response to the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, saying that Trump lacked “moral authority.” He has also criticized Trump’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests and once urged Trump to stop retweeting content in support of white power. Nonetheless, Scott has become a prolific Trump suck-up. Earlier this month, Scott announced that he is launching a $14 million voter outreach campaign to minority voters through his Super PAC, Great Opportunity PAC. Perhaps Trump sees value in selecting a black running mate, but as we know with Republican voters, this can be a double-edged sword.
It’s possible that Trump will ultimately select someone completely unexpected who wasn’t even mentioned in this piece, but these are all of the names who are currently being floated. Who do you think will be Trump’s VP? Let me know in a comment!
Loyalty as well as being essentially invisible.
He will pick the one that can stand behind him and stare at him with the look of pure love, like his last guy.