Absolute slavish subservience. Especially after Pence’s “betrayal,” he will insist on a VP who always will put Trump’s interests ahead of his/her own. This will keep Haley, DeSantis, Cruz, Hawley, and any other politicians with future Presidential ambition off the ticket.
Complementing his brand. He will insist on someone who “looks the part.” While he may choose a woman, it will not be Stefanik or Huckabee-Sanders because – in his twisted, misogynist mind – they don’t look like the kind of women who should be standing at his side. Likewise, he’ll never choose Graham because while such a blatant lickspittle has his uses, he doesn’t project the strength and sophistication that Trump associates with his brand.
If I had to put money on it, I’d say Kari Lake, with him wishing the whole time that she were just ten years younger.
No, Lake was the victim of massive voter fraud just like Trump. And unlike those other pussies Trump endorsed in the midterms, Lake refused to concede.
I will reluctantly join the group of Kari Lake supporters.
She has never stopped supporting him, and he’s ego driven.
She has no support OTHER than as a Trump acolyte - without Trump she has no standing, no fan base, and no respect. She therefore (post-Pence) has no chance or reason to “betray” him, overshadow him, or support any effort to remove him no matter how criminal, senile, or insane he may be in the new administration. And again, as a female candidate, in Trump’s mind at least (and many Trump voters) her only place is as a simpering support.
Trump is transactional - what can a new VP candidate GIVE him? Compared to what he already has in hand? Very little. If outright bribes were allowed or available (and I’m not saying they aren’t, but he’ll be under a microscope) it would be an open field, but that’s not likely the case. As others aid, Pence was a sop to ‘traditional’ Republicans are Christians, but those have both become fans or caved, so not needed. But Kari MIGHT help in delivering AZ, which has got to be on Trump’s mind, as he NEEDS to win (or be given the crown via corruption if he doesn’t) - and AZ is very much in play.
If someone else can give him MORE, with zero chance of betrayal, he’d jump in a heartbeat. But as things stand, Kari edges out everyone else.
I can see the appeal for Tim Scott. Having him around will give cover for all the racist shit a 2nd Trump admin will try to do. Vivek could fill this role as well, but not being a Christian is a major turn-off for a big chunk of the base, no matter how loyal or subservient he is to Trump - plus, the base may have a hard time saying his name - so Tim Scott is better there, too.
I would be very surprised if he chooses Lake. She clearly has her own ambitions and Trump won’t be able to trust that she’ll dedicate herself absolutely and entirely to servility. That’s one of the reasons I personally favor Flynn; he has zero future except as a limpet on Trumpdom, and both he and Trump know this.
If I can be captain obvious, a pick who pleaded guilty to a felony, and whom the nominee then pardoned, weakens the ticket. So this will only happen if Trump is dumb. I still don’t see how a dumb politician could have ever won the presidency.
To say it totally differently: Trump believes in the value of drawing negative attention to himself. But he won’t want someone who draws the negative attention spotlight onto themself. So Trump will pick someone less crazypants than Flynn.
I do have to admit Noem is crazypants on abortion, and I won’t be surprised if Trump picks her.
I honestly think it’s going to be Kari Lake because he’ll like the way “Trump Lake” sounds. Like someone named a huge body of water after him. He’s just that stupidly narcissistic. Plus, she’s totally in the bag for him, is as crazy as he is on election bullshit, and can help him win Arizona and win over suburban women (or so he’ll think).
I don’t know how serious you were being, but I can totally see Trump basing his decision on which bumper sticker mockups look the best. And TRUMP/LAKE would likely win.
Trump’s ideal pick would be no one. He doesn’t want to share and he doesn’t want to admit he is mortal and susceptible to illness and death.
And he hates the existence of the office of VP, because he can’t fire the VP. So I think he’s going to go the mob boss route and try to pick his son. That’s as close to nothing as he can get. Well, Eric would be even closer to nothing, but I don’t think he’ll go that far.
And while I’m not sure Junior has been actively lobbying for this job, I’m pretty sure his girlfriend has been auditioning for the role of Second Lady ever since she came on the scene.
There’s another reason, if he picks Junior he can raid his staff allowance. This was a tidbit I picked up from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s book Melania and Me. Did you ever wonder why Trump was allowed to hire so many special advisors, people like Bannon and KellyAnne? He essentially stole them from his wife, taking a large portion of the salary allowance for the Office of the First Lady and transferring it to his office.
The Republican Party will push back against this choice, but I don’t think they’ll win.
This may be wishful thinking on my part, because this choice will hurt him with swing voters……but Trump will not believe or acknowledge that anything he does will hurt him with his base.
