Washington: Even before the Supreme Court took up former US President Donald Trump’s appeal against Colorado’s apex court verdict striking him off the ballot and courts have begun trial hearings on election subversion, speculation is rife as to who the “Make America Great Again (MAGA) boss” would choose as his running mate for the vice presidency.
Also, the Republican presidential primaries and caucuses are yet to kick in and the GOP is just following poll numbers that project Trump as frontrunner against Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, but, former President Donald Trump’s commanding lead in the polls has already spurred debate over potential running mates, media reports said.
Several names are being floated for the second top executive position in the US as some lawmakers have said in media interviews they would be interested in the job.
Other names have surfaced as Trump meets with a high-profile supporter this week at Mar-a-Lago with Rep, Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., according to aides.
Elise Stefanik, who is also from Trump’s home state of New York, is 39-year-old, and one of the fiercest allies to become a possible running mate.
On loyalty, she has proved herself as she has criticised his indictments and filed ethics complaints with judges who have overseen cases related to the former president. But New York is largely a blue state.
She could appeal to younger women looking to back the former president.
However, she is from New York, which has voted blue in recent presidential elections.
“Electoral considerations are often at play in Vice-Presidential selections, so someone who could help Republicans flip a state like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, or Arizona could be especially helpful,” USA Today said, quoting poll experts.
Trump campaign managers dismissed as “premature” stories doing the rounds on possible appointments — from running mate to White House chief of staff, reports said.
Trump told an NBC interview about two months ago that he hasn’t thought too much about the role of his VP but added he “likes the concept” of a woman as vice president. “We’re going to choose the best person,” he said.
Loyalty would weigh in over everything else and candidate’s electability and ability to pull in more votes for Trump as opposed to the Democrats formidable combination of Biden and Kamala Harris, where the latter pulls in all the ethnic votes from Hispanic, to Asian to Indian to African Americans, besides her clout with wealthy billionaires in New York is a factor.
Top political experts say absolute loyalty would be the prime consideration for Trump as he chooses his running mate. Some of his supporters being floated as a running mate could very well end up on Trump’s ticket, reports said adding the choice would fall on a woman who could match his charisma as well as be second fiddle to him on the ballot and not overshadow him.
Elise Stefanik fits this bill perfectly and she could end up as his running mate, though her credibility with swing states is still a big question.
Trump would not certainly look at powerful rivals such as Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis as his running mate, but who knows, what the election campaign managers till him how to fend of Biden and Harris in a 2020 rematch between him and Biden with the former facing a huge legal baggage and independents sitting on the fence as also some moderate Republican voters.
Trump’s Vice President would have to walk the extra mile in getting his legal cases quashed to get the fence sitters on his side, reports said.
It is estimated that the undecided voters constitute 15 per cent of the electorate and could swing the 2024 presidential election either way – Red or Blue.
Among the women candidates in the race, the choice could fall on — Elise Stefanik, 39, Republican from New York, Trumps home state, Christy Noem, 52, South Dakota Governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 41, Arkansas Governor, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, an experienced lawmaker from Atlanta , who has experience and a proven record of loyalty. Media is betting on Elise Stefanik as his best choice running mate. Kari Lake, TV star, is also in the race, but she lost the November midterms.
When it comes to absolute loyalty, there is none other than Indian entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 38 years old, no political experience, but who has successfully caught the eye of the MAGA boss who has several times asked him not to go overboard with his comments on policy matters such as climate change and no birthright citizenship.
Trump was asked on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” whether he would choose Scott as a running mate in July, and said he thinks Scott is a “very good guy” and talented. “We did opportunity zones together. It’s never been talked about. It’s one of the most successful economic development things ever done in this country. And Tim is very good,” Trump said.
–IANS
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