If it can be said that Donald Trump loves publicity – all publicity, even if it’s bad – then Trump’s decision to hold off until the Republican National Convention (TV coverage from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, begins on Monday) to announce his choice for a 2024 running mate was a pure stroke of genius.
For Trump’s second-to-none assessment on how to manage public relations virtually guarantees him dominance of the headlines for about the next month in numerous different ways. News entities of every stripe – establishment, conservative, foreign, morning shows, late shows, in-between shows – will slobber over the new addition to the 2024 horserace, a political sideshow that desperately craves something fresh to talk about.
Trump will provide it, be it today, this weekend or standing at the podium and introducing the person to a drumroll and thousands of shrieking delegates at the convention itself. Whatever the scenario, Trump will find a way to indelibly etch it into the minds of the viewing audience.
It’s hard to realize, but the American establishment media has been preoccupied for about a year with Trump’s various legal problems, all of which were more or less fostered by the Department of in-Justice under incumbent president senile Joe Biden and his pathetic crew of courtroom mercenaries headed by the worst attorney general of all-time, Merrick Garland. The state and local cases (in Georgia and New York City) had Biden’s and Garland’s fingerprints all over them. The federal cases? Special Prosecutor Jack Smith may as well have a cot set up next to the Oval Office for spur-of-the-moment marching orders from the top.
The media talkers loved the steady supply of salacious sleaze that allegedly had Trump cornered while he waged his political comeback. How many of Trump’s enemies surmised that Americans wouldn’t ever vote for an accused (then convicted) felon? Republican fat dirigible tub of goo Chris Christie staked his 2024 candidacy on Trump being felled by legal hijinks.
Obviously, so did Joe Biden and the rest of the Democrats, all of whom are doing massive soul searching while wrestling with each other over whether to keep the visibly senile Delawarean as their nominee. The Democrat convention isn’t for another month (in Barack Obama’s hometown of Chicago), so they’ve still got time to haggle over rotten poll numbers and possible replacements for the runaway winner of the liberal party primary race.
Which merely sets the stage for Trump’s long-awaited running mate announcement. Having observed Trump over the years, the moment could come at any time. In an article titled “The countdown starts for Trump’s V.P. pick — a decision set to shape the GOP’s future”, Seth McLaughlin reported at The Washington Times on Wednesday:
“Donald Trump is expected to accept the presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention next week after he names not only his running mate but also the early favorite to be the MAGA standard-bearer in 2028. Mr. Trump, who teased an announcement as soon as Tuesday night, has been open about some of those under consideration, but he has kept his cards close to the vest on a decision poised to reverberate across the U.S. political scene for years.
“Mr. Trump has confirmed that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida are on his short list for a running mate. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson are also thought to be in consideration.
“’I haven’t made a final decision, but I have some ideas as to where we’re going and a little bit we wanted to see what they’re doing, to be honest, because it might make a difference,’ he said… ‘I’d love to do it during the convention,’ Mr. Trump said.”
If a convention announcement comes to pass, wouldn’t it be a sight? A convention running mate reveal would generate enough buzz to last a good long time, which is probably the reason why Trump would favor the scenario in the first place. If “Gender Reveal” parties are all the rage for folks expecting babies these days, why not adopt the basic concept to make the national convention a “Veep Reveal” party?
At least with Trump, I don’t believe it would be cheesy. Balloons with the winner’s state on them? I doubt it.
One of the reasons Trump has held off so long is because the nominee-to-be has said the outcome of the Democrats’ back-and-forth over whether to ditch senile Joe Biden could have an impact on his choice. Here’s guessing that’s the truth, especially if it means the Democrats switch from featuring an old, broken-down, corrupted liar dinosaur like senile Joe to an even stupid-er but decidedly female and dark skin-toned Kamala Harris.
The vast majority of American voters don’t care about shallow demographic surface considerations, but some do, particularly when it’s been shown that cackling Kamala does slightly better with independent voters vis-à-vis Trump than pale as a banshee (with brainpower to match) senile Joe Biden does. Of course, Harris’s poll numbers are just about as bad as Biden’s, but the dynamic of the 2024 contest could change if/when senile Joe shuffles away to the dementia ward.
For the so-called finalists in the Trump-veep derby, McLaughlin’s piece includes blurbs on J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio and Doug Burgum, listing the attributes of each. Up until this week, it’s seemed to me that Tim Scott had emerged as the leader. But going with the establishment media’s latest rumors, we’ll concentrate on Vance, Rubio and Burgum here.
The rationale for choosing J.D. Vance isn’t complex or complicated. Simply put, Vance is as young as senile Joe Biden is old and serves as a stark contrast in this age/mental capacity focused presidential race. Trump is no spring chicken either, of course, so anointing Vance as his successor instantly removes all or most of the age-related hesitations surrounding Trump himself.
Vance has been on TV a lot lately, which doubles for an extended on-the-job interview for the Republican party’s leader to see whether the late thirty-something former stern Trump critic has really changed his attitude and can hold up to the intense pressure he’ll face under the eternally antagonistic establishment media and hate-filled Democrat opposition’s glare.
It should also be noted that, unlike the others in the finalist category, Vance has never run for president before. Therefore, the Ohio junior senator hasn’t endured the constant days on the campaign trail, the 24-hour news crush, endless requests for interviews, the big-time debate stages or anything else that comes along with running the gauntlet seeking the highest office in the land/world.
Needless to say, as veep nominee, Vance would be asked a ton of questions regarding his views on foreign policy since, as president (if he steps into the office), J.D. would be the center of attention for devising American policy outside our borders. That being said, I personally believe American voters don’t base their votes on foreign affairs unless there’s a war involved. Most Americans are too preoccupied with domestic issues to worry about what the politicians think on American policy on continental Africa, as an example.
This may not be as true this election, since, again, Kamala Harris is Biden’s vice president (and may be president sooner than we thought). Harris’s weaknesses are in every area, particularly on immigration and foreign policy (no experience). Vance is a Marine and has a Yale law degree. He’s also a best-selling author. I doubt anyone will be arguing he’s not sharp or prepared.
Lastly, Vance has a very telegenic and professionally accomplished woman-of-color wife (Usha Vance), so the “racist” and “misogynist” labels wouldn’t stick to him – or her, since she shares her ethnic heritage with Kamala Harris.
The other night in Miami, Trump spent a good deal of time propping up Marco Rubio as a potential right-hand man for him. Rubio would certainly be the most well-known of the finalists, having first obtained notoriety (infamy?) over a decade ago for his membership in the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” (which included proven RINOs Jeff Flake, John McCain and Lindsey Graham) immigration amnesty working group and then as the establishment favorite opposite Trump in the 2016 GOP primaries.
Remember? Trump derided Rubio as “Little Marco”? Chris Christie also destroyed Rubio in a debate just before the New Hampshire primary that year, leading to a new, non-Trump nickname of “Marco Roboto”.
Assuming Rubio is much more polished than back then, Marco would seem to be a dream vice president candidate. Extremely articulate, good looking, fierce when he needs to be and well-respected for his knowledge of foreign affairs – and an expert on China – Rubio’s stock has risen quickly in the veepstakes.
But how would he deal with the being-from-Florida 12th Amendment constitutional issue? The Democrats would make a huge deal out of it, which isn’t desirable in this year where calm waters should be the goal for the veep nominee.
Doug Burgum has hung on much longer than expected in the discussion as to who Trump would choose, which definitely indicates that Trump likes him and his qualifications. The North Dakota governor who resembles Burt from Sesame Street appears to be the safe choice in the mold of Mike Pence in 2016. Burgum doesn’t seem like the overly-ambitious type, so Trump wouldn’t have to employ an extra White House food taster when the vice president comes to dinner, either.
Burgum is well spoken if not exciting, appears to know his stuff and is regarded as an expert in energy exploration, clearly one of Trump’s favorite subjects. If chosen, Doug would represent the United States well in all respects. And not compete for camera time with Trump. And stay out of the headlines. All bonuses.
If I had to predict – which I do – I’d say Trump will pick J.D. Vance. The Ohioan represents the biggest gamble but also presents the biggest upside. In golf, we call him a risk/reward proposition, and these are everyone’s favorite golf holes to play!
Rubio and Burgum will each receive consolation prizes. Perhaps Rubio will be Defense Secretary or possibly even Secretary of State, and Burgum will be tapped for Energy Secretary on the Trump team. Trump was correct by saying the Republican Party has a deep “bench” of talent. It’s only a matter of time before we discover how he uses his “players”.
Joe Biden economy
inflation
Biden cognitive decline
gas prices,
Nancy Pelosi
Biden senile
January 6 Committee
Liz Cheney
Build Back Better
Joe Manchin
RINOs
Marjorie Taylor Green
Kevin McCarthy
Mitch McConnell
2022 elections
Donald Trump
2024 presidential election
Just get it over with! It feels like this campaign season has been going on for a decade.