Donald Trump has been very coy about who he is going to choose as his vice president.
Most believe it will be a woman or a minority, but a new name has been thrown into the hat that is drawing a lot of speculation.
Talking Points…
- The new guy
- Possible VPs
- Analysis
There is a lot of buzz surrounding Senator JD Vance (R-OH) suddenly as the new favorite to be Donald Trump's vice president. Vance is only in his seat because of Trump, who gave him a boost during his campaign for the open seat in Ohio. In return, Vance has helped push Trump's agenda, showing Trump that he is a loyal soldier.
Above all else, Donald Trump values complete and utter devotion to him and his campaign, and Vance has shown that while somehow managing to stay out of the drama that we see from other Trump supporters in Congress, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). Republican strategist Mehek Cooke stated:
"He's no stranger to hard work. He has had rock-solid loyalty and a winning record.
"And by that I mean, he doesn't just regurgitate Republican talking points. He truly believes in putting America first."
The odd thing about all this is that Vance is a reformed Never-Trump candidate who was very vocal against Trump in 2016 but flipped during the 2022 election cycle. Trump took some heavy hits for endorsing Vance, but he was adamant that Vance had a come-to-Jesus moment regarding Donald Trump and his agenda. Vance recently commented on this, stating:
"I think there are so many reasons I was wrong about Trump, but I'm happy that I was wrong about Trump."
In addition to Vance, there are several names that we know are at the top of Trump's VP list. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is my choice for VP for what he brings to the table. Trump had made significant progress in terms of drawing in more black voters, but his numbers go through the roof if he has a black VP. Scott is also very well liked in the GOP and across all demographics for conservatives, and he is generally considered a moderate, which would also bode well for Trump in terms of drawing in voters who may not be attracted to him otherwise.
After Scott, there is Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota. Noem has been working hard to get the nod from the very outset of Trump's campaign, and she regularly gloats about being one of the few people on the shortlist who did not run against Trump in this election.
Outside of Noem, I believe the top candidates are Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Kari Lake, and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). There was also talk of Dr. Ben Carson being chosen very early in the cycle, but that talk has seemingly died down with Senator Scott's emergence.
I firmly believe that the only choice that truly makes sense for Donald Trump here is Senator Tim Scott. This is all about getting more votes for Trump, not having someone who is a direct reflection of you and your agenda.
Nobody on Trump's shortlist can offer Trump the benefits that Senator Scott brings to the table. If he chooses Scott and manages to avoid a conviction, I don't know how Trump can lose, even if DeSantis supporters stay away from him. Scott could bring enough votes to the table to offset the losses from the DeSantis block, so this is a no-brainer in my book.
