For patriots who oppose fascism and want the American experiment with democracy to endure, who are the best and worst choices that Trump could choose as his running mate?
Trump attempted a coup on January 6, 2021. He failed. Mike Pence, a Christian conservative, opposed this coup after consulting with former VP Dan Quayle. To define terms, fascism is a variety of authoritarianism that scapegoats certain minority groups: in the current incarnation the vilified minority are undocumented workers.
A patriotic VP with spine would support US democracy without apology. A fascist VP would cheer on attempts to thwart US democracy. A milquetoast VP would keep their head down and try to walk a fine line between the 2 positions.
Trump won’t knowingly appoint a VP with spine or a surplus of political courage. So the choices are between enthusiastic fascists and milquetoasts. Milquetoasts would be the preferred option.
The worst choice from an anti-fascist perspective would be JD Vance of Ohio. I can imagine him carrying on the Trump torch if the unhealthy burger munching 78 year old expires in office. The best plausible choice would be anyone else.
So is your question who would most effective at restraining trump while trump was alive, or who would best as substitute president after trump dies in office?
My question is who would make the best and worst choice as a VP from the perspective of someone who wants the republic to endure.
My opinion is that the Vice Presidency is worth a bucket of warm spit and that realistically no plausible candidate would do anything significant to restrain Trump. But some might cheer on his worst instincts, which would be bad. I assign most weight to the less than 50% probability that Trump dies or is removed from office.
ETA: Oh this is rich:
Ok, after 15 posts or so, I say we can consider choices made by a Democratic Senate, provided it’s understood that the scenario is wholly implausible.