Former President Donald Trump has the Republican Party speculating about potential running mates following his resounding victory in the Iowa caucuses and his projected victory in the New Hampshire primary next week.
With the resumption of Washington’s popular parlor game so soon after the GOP primary elections, it’s evident that Trump’s nomination is considered certain. According to Axios sources, there is a shortlist of three people for Trump’s running mate.
1. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik
2. Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance
3. Nikki Haley, a current 2024 presidential candidate and former United Nations ambassador during the Trump administration.
The third one is laughable, as I seriously doubt Trump would pick Haley since she is the establishment neocon’s choice this season. Senator Vance would be a good pick, but the choice for a VP candidate should be someone who compliments the top of the ticket in areas the presidential candidate is lacking. Elise Stefanik is who I would think Trump would pick out of the top three on this list. Though I like Representative Stefanik, I don’t think she’s ready.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELAccording to Axios, other potential candidates include Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake.
Of those, I like Vivek, but he and Trump would be like two peas in a pod. I really like the idea of Kristi Noem and Ben Carson. And who can call themselves America First without liking Kari Laker? But I would love to see Bryon Donalds. He’s a rising star in the GOP House; he’s quick on his feet, he loves America, and he knows the issues. Donalds is not afraid to go head-to-head with progressives, and who wouldn’t love to watch Congressman Donalds tear Kamala Harris apart in a debate?
Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, is “at the top,” former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon told NBC News. I wonder how Bannon feels about that.
Stefanik will campaign in New Hampshire tomorrow, before the January 23 primary, alongside the former president, who was the first congressman to back Trump. Following Stefanik’s now-viral encounter with university presidents, Trump allegedly told allies, “She’s a killer,” at a hearing on school anti-Semitism in December. Stefanik can handle herself. The only thing I don’t like about the New York representative is she has a liberty score of 48%. That is an F grade. Granted, she hails from the liberal mecca of New York, but I think she could do better.
On the other hand, Byron Donalds has a liberty score of 100%. That is a pure A and the best score a member of Congress can achieve.
Vance is one of Trump’s most active backers in the GOP, expressing his views on immigration and foreign affairs.
“I’d love to see a J.D. Vance,” Donald Trump Jr., who takes pleasure in his ability to connect with the MAGA base, told Newsmax as he ran off his selection. “People who are principally in alignment as well as aggressive.”
Nikki Haley is the most divisive name on the list, assuming the Axios report is correct.
Insiders told Axios that Haley would spark a “all-out revolt in the MAGA world,” particularly given her hawkish foreign policy views and establishment connections.
Haley told a group of people at a cafe in Amherst, New Hampshire, that she won’t be “anybody’s vice president.”
“Since I don’t want to be anybody’s vice president, that’s off the table,” tweeted Jonathan Martin, a senior political columnist for Politico, on X Friday.
Haley previously stated, “I don’t play for second, I’ve never played for second,” when asked if she would join Trump’s ticket if asked. Trump supporters have reacted angrily to the thought of Haley joining the ticket.
“I would do whatever I could to make sure it wasn’t Nikki Haley!” Donald Trump Jr. spoke to Newsmax on Thursday. “That’s my opinion, I don’t make these decisions.”
Haley, on the other hand, has increased her criticism of Trump this week, chastising him for invoking the largely disproven idea that the 2020 election was stolen to gain support.
“Trump says things. Americans aren’t stupid to just believe what he says,” Haley said to the media on Thursday at a campaign stop in Hollis, New Hampshire. “The reality is—who lost the House for us? Who lost the Senate? Who lost the White House? Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump.”
Haley just insulted over 74 million Americans by calling them stupid for believing in Trump. That’s akin to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” moment. Yikes.
Who is going to lose the GOP primary to Donald Trump? Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley.
#Trump2024RunningMate #GOPPrimaryElections #VicePresidentialSpeculation
