For many, the GOP debates are an audition for vice president if Trump wins the nomination.
Donald Trump, however, does not see it that way.
With all the shots landed against Trump on Wednesday night, it was no surprise to see him lash out against the field.
Many had believed that Trump would pick his VP from the top two or three contenders, but that is not the case.
During his rally in Michigan on Wednesday night, Trump stated:
"We're competing with the job candidates, they're all running for a job. No, they're all job candidates. They want to be in the—they want to, they'll do anything, secretary of something, they even say VP."
"Does anybody see the VP in the group? I don't think so."
Trump held a rally to support the UAW union, but he did so at a non-union shop. There were only about 500 people in attendance.
Most would think DeSantis would be the top contender, but that will never happen now. Whatever friendship these two had was severed the moment Trump started attacking DeSantis.
Nikki Haley was probably a contender until she started going after Trump during the debates.
Nobody else on that stage has a shot, so we are going to have to look outside the candidates.
I believe that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is the top contender at this point. Trump wants a woman to be his VP, and she has the best profile of anyone left on the table.
Outside of Noem, I think it would come down to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) or Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
Governor Sanders of Arkansas is a longshot, but I just don't see her leaving her mansion this early in her term.
I would have added Kari Lake to that list, but I have seen reports that she plans on running for Senator in Arizona now.
This election just seems to be chaos due to the fact we simply have no idea how it will wind up because of all of Trump's legal problems.
Because of the uncertainty for Trump, I think the strongest ticket we could put up against Biden-Harris would be DeSantis-Haley.
I have said this before, but if I were DeSantis, I would talk to Haley right now about teaming up to tear down Ramaswamy to get him out of the race. I would allow polling to dictate when Haley dropped out, but it would have to be before South Carolina regardless.
If DeSantis could make a deal with her before South Carolina, he could take that state in the primary, forcing Trump to make his move and commit to his VP.
For Trump, right now, I don't see a better move than Noem. She is very popular, has a decent national profile, and she would help him with women voters.
Having said that, there are salacious rumors about her and Corey Lewandowski, so she also faces some challenges.
If Trump has to forego Noem, I don't see anyone else in the party that would significantly impact his ticket in terms of being able to pull votes he does not already have in his pocket.
