Let the Trump veepstakes begin

Now that it seems Donal Trump has the Republican nomination locked up, who will he pick as his running mate? Will he go “normal” (at least for him)? Will he go rogue? Will he go for someone from a specific state? 

Will he go for a female running mate to make his misogyny and anti-women policies go down a little smoother? Will he go with a Black running mate? A Hispanic? The short answer is we really have no idea. With that said, I’m going to list 10 possible running mates, all of whom are to one extent or another plausible.  

The possibles are Nikki Haley (unlikely), Ohio Senator J.D. Vance (more than possible), Arizona’s Kari Lake (probably not but again), South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (maybe), Vivek Ramaswamy (can’t imagine, but who knows), South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (makes sense if we don’t mind a low IQ running mate), Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (if low IQ is a requirement, he should be in the top three), Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (a double down on utter lunacy), New York Representative Elise Stefanik (high IQ for sure but a sycophant and creep of the highest order).  

Considering Haley: This choice seems to make political sense. She’s a former governor (South Carolina), is telegenic, somewhat talented and was the ambassador to the United Nations ambassador for a period during Trump’s presidency. Her problem is that she has said repeatedly that Biden won the 2020 election. 

This obviously runs afoul of the man who would pick her. Is he going to accept a running mate who sides with the truth? That seems to be a real deal breaker in a party where a majority of the base believes the earth is 4,000 years old and is convinced that a woman should be prohibited from an abortion before she knows she’s pregnant). 

But she would bring obvious advantages to the ticket. But here’s the problem. She’s a hawk a party that no longer accommodates hard-line foreign policies of yesteryear. It’s the party of isolationism.   

Considering Taylor Greene. If Trump is looking to double down with a running mate, they don’t come better than her. A belligerent politico with zero skill set who has spent 99 percent of her time in the House brushing up on her communications staff to the exclusion of accomplishing anything. She’s on the extreme right wing and while I can’t rightly see Trump picking her, she nonetheless appears to be at least in the running.  

Considering Lake. Although the losing candidate for Arizona governor in 2002, she’s yet to be convince of that fact.  Until recently she was more anti-choice than Trump. She is a former TV anchor and clearly looks good on the stump. She telegenic and articulate, too. But she’s never held office, but that’s not necessarily a drawback in a party where having zero skills or experience doesn’t seem to be a deal breaker. 

Would Trump at 77 pick someone to be a “heartbeat away” who has never held a single elective or appointed office? 

Suarez, the Miami mayor. Suarez is young and seems pleasant enough. He’s also telegenic and in his mid- 40’s. He’s got a nice looking family. His problem might be that he’s a bit dumber than a stump and might run into the buzzsaw of questioning about, for instance, the names of various cabinet members.  

According to some, he’s used his perch as mayor to advance his law practice.  The city he governs suffers from a high crime rate and costs, and Miami’s housing expenses are out of control. I would doubt it but with the caveat that if Trump is looking for a good looking young Hispanic to peel off Hispanic votes from Biden, he wouldn’t be the craziest choice.

Scott of South Carolina. Here’s a man who on paper has some serious assets. Sure, he’s a moron but he’s Black U.S. senator, which are some serious bona fides. He has mastered the game of sucking up to Trump to the point where he might qualify as an expert. But he’s got no accomplishments that I’m aware of. Now that he’s engaged to be married, not to mention is nauseating fawning over Trump at the New Hampshire victory speech (“I love you Donald”), it seems logical that he’s in the running, maybe the front-runner. Fortunately for him, there’s no IQ requirement.    

And not to Stefanik. She’s another expert in the art of kissing Trump’s gargantuan rear end. She’s clearly a super bright young woman and after an initial reluctance to be in the Trump “tank,” she’s taken to it like a pro. A smart woman who I would think is being given a close look. Her Harvard education didn’t stop her from criticizing the American legal system when a jury of Trump’s peers found that he raped E. Jean Carroll and awarded her some $85 million dollars after she sued him for defamation of character. 

If Trump wants someone smart (not particularly likely) with a little bit of an identity and name, another choice might be Vance, the junior Senator from Ohio. The author of the very popular memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” he’s certainly lived the life as a young man of the “forgotten American.”  He’s become a Trump loyalist and super populist but there’s no denying that his Ivy League education would hold him in good stead with those who want to tout a “smart author.”   He’s not particularly great on the stump and is a boring white guy but I would think he’s at least being considered.  

But why didn’t I mention Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida as a running mate? Whip smart (albeit lacking the most rudimentary of political skills), DeSantis governs the third-largest state in the country and is embarked on a serious effort to turn the clock back 60 or 70 years on race, gender, sexual orientation and even the teaching of slavery and as a consequence would seem the perfect fit for Trump.   

He also has the benefit of being in his mid 40s with a young wife and children. Beyond the fact that he had the gall to challenge Trump for the nomination, Meatball Ron (Trump’s moniker) cannot be considered for VP because since he and Trump are both residents of Florida, they would have to forfeit the electoral votes of the state if they were to run as a ticket (this is a constitutional prohibition of dubious logic but it’s there nonetheless). Sorry, Ron.   

The absolute Hail Mary or “crazy” choices (so many to pick from) would be Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake. 

My money, then, is on Stefanik. Just a (somewhat) educated guess, based in no small part on the alternatives. 

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