LOS ANGELES.–Hinting that he knows who he’ll pick as Vice President, 77-year-old President Donald Trump put the cart before the horse when it comes to the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucues and Jan. 22 New Hampshire primary. Trump leads former U.N. Amb. Nikki Haley by 36% in Iowa and 11% in New Hampshire, maybe the most rebellious of all U.S. states. Iowa politics are dominated by Christian Evangelicals with New Hampshire influenced by independently-minded voters. Tonight was the last CNN debate between Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with Haley given an edge judging by the extent of audience applause over certain answers to questions posed by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. When it comes to the debate, both said they would have preferred to debate the issues with Trump but never got the chance. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 62, officially bowed out today.
At a Fox New forum tonight, Trump was asked by host Martha McCallum who he’d pick for Vice President, assuming polls are correct and he marches on to the nomination. Trump has been leading in the polls since he announced for president Nov. 22, 2022. Since then, state and national polls showed Trump with a whopping lead despite his indictments on 91 felonies that could carry multiple life sentences. Somehow Trump supporters don’t accept the government’s cases against Trump, rejecting the idea that he ordered an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 or violated the Espionage Ace or Presidential Records Act keeping classified does in White House moving boxes stored in his Mar-a-Lago basement. Special Counsel Jack Smith said Trump endangered U.S. national security, something so baffling, so inconceivable to voters it sounds like another partisan witch hunt.
McCallum wanted Trump to share his favorite pick for Vice President assuming all polls are accurate that favors him to win the nomination. “Well, I can’t tell you that really. I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said, teasing McCallum but remaining mum. McCallum asked Trump whether he’d consider any on his GOP rivals for VP, Trump said he would. “I’ve already started to like Christie better,” Trump said tongue-in-cheek, knowing Christie has spent years holding a grudge about not being asked to join his 2016 Cabinet. Trump likes Christie more now since he dropped out today but would never pick a person of such disloyalty for his VP. Trump knows what happened with his 64 year-old former VP, Mike Pence. Pence stabbed him in the back running for president, but, more importantly, implicating him in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, as Democrats like to call it.
Trump is a fiercely loyal person knowing that that government sometimes frames individuals they’d like to silence. He admired Attorneys like Roy Cohen that defended Mafia bosses and other members or organized crime. Trump liked Cohen’s style of aggressively going after government officials, especially challenging the FBI under J.Edgar Hoover. When Trump found himself investigated by 63-year-old former FBI Director James Comey, he felt he was inside a Roy Cohen drama, defending himself in the Russian hoax against a government frame up. Trump thinks all the government’s cases against him are fabricated with the intent to stopping in 2024 presidential campaign. Trump’s backers also think the government and the press have gone overboard prosecuting Trump. Trump cut his teeth in the New York real estate business going after city officials.
Democrats and the press have it in for Trump, tyring-and-convicting him in the press on a nightly TV news shows. Yet Trump judges, like U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, slap him with restraining orders, to muzzle him from telling his story. What kind of criminal justice system does the U.S. have that allows all the incriminating evidence to leak out on the nightly news or in liberal newspapers? Trump can’t get a fair trial anywhere under the U.S. Constitution because Democrats and the press have convicted him many times over. Whatever the case, Trump receives no presumption of innocence with liberal news outlets convicting Trump on the nightly news. What jury pool hasn’t been contaminated by the 24/7 coverage on national TV. Trump is told to muzzle himself while presiding judges permit the government to leak and president all the evidence on nightly TV.
Mentioned most frequently as a possible VP pick, 52-year-old South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem keeps coming up, despite the conjecture. Other names circulated as possible VPs include 39-year-old Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and 41-year-old Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. But Trump’s known for his affinity to attractive women, something easily won by Noem. Noem has solid conservative credentials having pushed back on the Covid government lockdowns, leaving South Dakota open for business when other states were shut down. Trump won’t make a VP announcement anytime soon, most likely right before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Aug. 15-18. As it stands now, Trump looks poised to sweep most of the GOP primaries, most likely handing him the nomination by May. Don’t expect any VP announcement until the RNC convention.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
