Donald Trump will want to make a splash for his Vice-President and appoint a woman or a people of color. There are plenty of choices, including Kristi Noem, Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and even Nikki Haley.
Nikki Haley is the choice to “unite the party” and encourage big donors to fund Trump’s campaign but so far she has shown herself to be squishy. John Hinderaker summed up her record, strength, and weakness, “Nikki Haley did a good job as Governor of South Carolina, and an excellent job as Donald Trump’s UN Ambassador. That was where she became a favorite of many conservatives. At the same time, there is legitimate doubt about how conservative she really is. Several times, her first reaction to events has been misguided and not at all conservative–among others, after George Floyd’s death she tweeted about the need for police reform. It is hard to be more tone-deaf than that.” Her ability to be easily stumped on the campaign trail as Hinderaker notes, “When asked about the cause of the Civil War, Haley equivocated and couldn’t bring herself to say that the war was about slavery–a lapse which I attributed to her sensitivity to the view, rather widespread in some southern states, that the Civil War was really, contrary to history and common sense, about something else…Most recently, Haley is being faulted on the social issue of gender. On the campaign trail during an Iowa call-in event, she was unable to say whether a man can become a woman.” Now add the 14-year-old rumor of her affairs and note this rumor came back after it was rumored she was considered to be Trump Vice President. (My own guess is that this was political ploy by someone who wanted to take Haley out before New Hampshire or send a message to Trump, no way that she should be Veep.)
Kristi Noem has been running for the VP slot without declaring, as she has been running ads about what a great state South Dakota is, and she was the only governor to keep her state open during the pandemic even as others closed down. Governors DeSantis and Kemp joined her on this. She has made the point that South Dakota is open to business and freedom. Now two words can derail her candidacy, Corey Lewandowski , a former Trump operative. This rumor came out a couple of years ago before it disappeared. It reappeared after she endorsed Trump at a South Dakota rally. I am cynical enough to believe came up to keep her from being a serious consideration for the VP slot.
Elise Stefanik is yet another who has been campaigning as a Vice President. Originally a moderate Republican, Stefanik has become a MAGA lady and using her support for Trump as a vehicle to move up the Republican congressional ladder and as thirty-nine she would be the youngest Vice President nominee. Is her support of Trump a touch of opportunism or has she become MAGA lady? Is she ready for prime time? So far no one has stated they had sex with her but we don’t know what she brings to the ticket.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders was the press secretary in the Trump era and a good press Secretary and now is governor of Arkansas. She will give assurances to Trump supporters that his agenda will continue if something happens to him. She now has executive experience and as the daughter of Mike Huckabee, a former governor and presidential candidate, she has been around politics for quite a long time.
Tim Scott has decided that maybe he might want to be VP as he chose to endorse Trump as oppose his fellow South Carolina, Nikki Haley and his advantage is he is black and provides Trump an option for a black choice for Vice President and he does have a solid conservative record, so he would be acceptable to Trump supporters.
The question is really how much a Vice-President brings to the table for voters and while there maybe some benefit to the right Vice President nominee, the reality is that voters will decide on the top of ticket and not who is in second. Kamal Harris did not keep Joe Biden from being elected in 2020. The important things to think about the Vice-President, do you see that individual ready to take over the Presidency if something happens to the President and when you are looking at two nominees running at the age at 78 and 82, then the quality of the Vice President matters.
For Republicans, when you run a 78-year-old Presidential nominee and one with ninety-one indictments, you better make sure the person who is the Vice President nominee is considered a serious person with gravitas. There is one candidate who fits that description. He is not black, he is not a woman, but he is a successful governor with a proven record of getting things done conservatively and just as important, he has dealt with several crisis beginning his solid record during the pandemic and his handling of hurricanes. He has served in a war zone and congressional experience, so he knows Washington and understand the problem of the administrative state and Deep State. He is not looking for dragons to slain overseas but not isolationist. Now if Trump wants to ensure his legacy continues after his own presidency runs its course, then there is one choice that works, Ron DeSantis.
The Donelson Files 