Trump’s potential VPs turn on the flattery
At CPAC on Friday, a number of potential running colleagues took the stage. They mostly sang well-known songs.
The 2024 veepstakes have totally evolved into a contest to see who can show Donald Trump the most praise. NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual event outside of Washington that draws thousands of MAGA-hat wearing Trump supporters, more than a half-dozen Democrats with desires to be the former mayor’s running mate took the stage on Friday. While there, they alternated between expressing their respect for the former senator and adding their own distinctive spin to it.
Governor of South Dakota South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and biomedical entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, two former primary candidates who are now vice presidential candidates, were among those who challenged Trump for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kris Noem took aim at these individuals. Why did so many additional individuals and people enter the race? She enquired. ” For themselves?” For one’s own profit? for a brief period of time in the spotlight?
Elise Stefanik, a representative ( R- N ). Y. ) frequently yoked herself to the previous president, referring to her upstate New York city as” Trump and Elise Country” and saying that, like Trump, she had “underestimated… at every turn.”
Then there was Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who compared Trump to athletes like Tom Brady, Bill Belichik, and Michael Jordan, calling them” hard” and “holding everyone guilty.”
Donald J. Trump is the type of leader we need who is willing to say difficult issues when necessary, and he embodies that authority this November.
Political candidates have long valued commitment in choosing their vice presidents. However, those seeking Trump’s No. 2 acknowledge that he values that quality highly.
Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president, refused his commands to never certify the 2020 presidential election results, which caused the two men to become deeply estranged. Additionally, there are clear signs that Trump is thinking about commitment as the Executive search process gets underway. Additionally, the former president recently voiced his displeasure in private about past allies who both withheld their support until late or did not support him in the primary.
All of this has paved the way for a somewhat unusual President selection process in contemporary social history. Trump, who chose Pounds in 2016 in part to gain the support of evangelicals, now appears to be just as eager to find a running partner who reaffirms his political card as one who could, in principle, round out the ticket. This is in contrast to previous presidential contenders who selected their running partners based on factors like local appeal or where they stood intellectually.
” I’ve spoken to him about the kind of suffering he endured as a result of the individuals on his crew, whom I believed to be on it.” They write ebooks, they land deals with CNN, according to CPAC Chair Matt Schlapp, a steadfast Trump supporter who is in charge of the gathering. ” I do n’t believe he’s interested in testing loyalty in a lot of ways.” In important posts, I believe it will be very significant to him.
Participants gathered at CPAC were very interested in the veepstakes, not the least because the tournament’s monthly straw poll is focused on who should be chosen by Trump, with the results expected to be released on Saturday afternoon. Schlapp claims that despite the fact that the straw poll results are, if anything, scientific, the infamously poll-obsessed Trump has long been interested in the league’s annual review.
Schlapp remarked,” He’s often talked to me about the straw ballot, and he cares for the issues that are in it. ” If they receive 1 % in the poll, I do n’t believe it improves their chances, that’s how I see it.”
Just before the benefits of the straw poll are to be revealed, the former leader is scheduled to speak on Saturday afternoon.
Trump has n’t made much of a statement about who he prefers to be the vice president, despite the fact that it has been stated that Trump is looking for someone who could assume the presidency if necessary. There are some indications of his and his team’s direction from the list of candidates that is frequently discussed. A sizable portion of the titles are held by women and officials of color. Additionally, Trump just praised Scott and Stefanik as two of them.
When Fox News host Laura Ingraham inquired as to whether his selection includes former Democrat Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Donalds, and Florida Governor Trump claimed that Ron DeSantis, Noem, and Ramaswamy did.
Scott spent the days leading up to Saturday’s South Carolina primary campaigning with the former president even though he was n’t present at CPAC.
One of the first tryouts for those hoping to get the job was the CPAC meeting, where VP challengers made a concerted effort to appeal to the Trump supporter base. Ben Carson, a former housing and urban development minister for Trump, made reference to an issue that was well-known among the audience: the fate of the rioters from January 6 who are currently incarcerated. When Carson said that law enforcement had “let dried offenders out of jail while relaxing pro-life activists and patriotic mothers who walked into the Capitol on January 6 are facing a generation or more in jail,” there was cheers.
Future No. Additionally, 2s were eager to participate in the conference’s live recording of” War Room,” a well-liked radio hosted by former Trump planner Steve Bannon. Stefanik appeared on the program, as did Gabbard, a previous Democrat who had switched to the Independent and MAGA favorites.
A shouted query from a reporter about the VP sensation was ignored by Gabbard, who in her statement accused her former gathering of” trying to destroy” Trump. In the doorway was a sizable cardboard cutouts of the support of Gabbard’s most recent guide,” For Love of Country: Why I Left the Political Party.”
In a word, Bannon stated that “CPAC” was the first “gating” celebration for the VP race.
Myah Ward made a contribution to this article.