LOS ANGELES.–President Donald Trump, 77, isn’t likely to announce his VP pick at least until his Manhattan Hush money trail concludes, sometime by the end of May. But that doesn’t stop the speculation now that Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee heading into the July 15-18 Republican National Committee Convention in Cleveland. Trump ran against a strong GOP field, including former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) , entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) harks back to 2016 and isn’t likely. Rep. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem looks out of the picture. Rep.Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y) could be the dark horse. Haley ended the her race after losing he home state primary, waiting until Super-Tuesday, March 6, to quit, saying, “I have no regrets.”
Since leaving the race, Haley has had time to think about her harsh rhetoric toward Trump at the end of the campaign, often mentioning his age and unwillingness to go to any sponsored GOP debates. Trump was so far up in the polls, with no other candidate having a chance of winning, that he smartly decided to avoid the fray, letting his rivals cannibalize themselves on national TV. Haley and Ramaswamy, in particular, spent much to their debate time insulting each other, adding nothing other than giving the media more red meat. Haley knew early on in the primary season that she did not poll high enough to compete with Trump but kept going with funding from the never-Trump crowd, funded largely by the Lincoln Project who failed to stop Trump in 2016, despite spending millions to sabotage his campaign. Ultimately, Trump prevailed easily.
Above all else, Trump values loyalty, not something Haley offers, knowing she’s already said she wouldn’t be interested in serving as his running mate. On the other hand, Haley must decide what her best path to a political future with her 2024 campaign failing to gain traction. Without the anti-Trump vote in the GOP, it’s doubtful Haley would have any real following in 2028, suggesting that if she has any presidential ambitions she’d better send out the feelers now rather than waiting for a murky future. Whether Haley brings anything to the table or not is another story. Because she embraced the never-Trump vote, doesn’t mean she’d have any real appeal in the future. If Haley played the numbers, she make a strong pitch to Trump to serve the ticket as his running mate, potentially drawing the biggest appeal in crowded field of potential VP candidates.
Haley has stayed off the radar since dropping out March 6 suggesting that she’s playing her cards close to the vest. She’s still got some appeal to Republicans thinking that she commands her own following. But that remains unknown since she only kept het campaign going at the behest of the never-Trump crowd. Another dark horse candidate for Trump’s VP has emerged with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y) who’s a fierce Trump loyalist, increasing her cache when she confronted Dec. 6, 2023 in the House Education and Workplace Committee Ivy League college presidents for handling anti-Semiticism on college campuses. Stefanik held Harvard, MIT and Penn presidents’ feet to the fire, resulting in Penn and Harvard presidents resigning in disgrace. Stefanik is under real consideration for VP, far more likely than Haley, Scott, DeSantis, Noem, Rubio or Burgum.
Trump had a chance to take a good look at DeSantis, whose campaign disintegrated because his actual campaign and debate performances left a lot desired. Recent controversial reports about South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem shooting her untrainable dog or talking to Rep. Kim Jong-un, watched her stock plummet. Noem looked the part but now becomes a liability. Flying below the radar is Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who, like Stefanik, is a diehard Trump supporter, opposed to the Ukraine War. Rubio and Scott both embraced 81-year-old President Joe Biden’s proxy war in Ukraine against the Kremlin, making them both incompatible with Trump. Haley, too, backs Biden’s Ukraine War, making her opposed to Trump’s promise to end the war in 24 hours. Ramaswamy and Trump are on the same page but would not fit as a campaign duo with Ramaswamy’s independent streak.
When looking at the field, it looks like J.D. Vance and Stefanik look most compatible with Trump’s idea of a running mate. No running mate is going to grab the headlines from Trump, especially with Trump so despised by the media. Vance and Stefanik are both good picks with Stefanki showing that she’s not intimidated on the national stage. When she took down Ivy League presidents, she showed she’s got the brazen side to go tete-a-tete with Vice President Kamala Harris. Looking at who’s on the shortlist, it looks like Stefank now leads the pack, knowing Trump must pick someone with appeal to independents. Trump’s former VP, former Rep. Mike Pence (R-In.) boomeranged with Pence blaming Trump for his handling of Jan. 6 Capitol riots. When you look at Stefanik, she’s the last one to stab Trump in the back, something Pence did when the going got tough.
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.
