Decryption | Wanted: loyal and photogenic running mate

(New York) Dressed in Donald Trump’s favorite uniform – navy blue suit and red tie – the four men sought to visually demonstrate their loyalty to the former Republican president. They also wanted to express it orally.

So, in turn, they paraded in front of a battery of microphones to address journalists gathered outside the Manhattan court where the trial in connection with the Stormy Daniels affair of their favorite presidential candidate was taking place.

“The American people have already acquitted Donald Trump,” declared one of the men, denouncing a “sham” trial.

A month later, the same man, Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, is part of Donald Trump’s short list of potential running mates.

The same goes for another member of the quartet present in New York that day: Byron Donalds, representative from Florida.

Both politicians were following in the footsteps of another potential member of the Republican ticket: JD Vance, senator from Ohio. A few days earlier, the latter had shown his support for Donald Trump by taking a seat behind him during Michael Cohen’s first day of testimony.

If all goes as planned, Donald Trump will reveal the identity of his vice-presidential candidate during the Republican convention, scheduled for July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee. Until then, potential running mates will continue to undergo various tests, including that of loyalty, as if they were reality TV show contestants. The Apprentice.

According to media reports, at least eight of them were asked by Donald Trump’s campaign team for documents to verify their financial, judicial or other backgrounds.

In addition to Burgum, Vance and Donalds, the group includes Senators Marco Rubio (Florida), Tim Scott (South Carolina) and Tom Cotton (Arkansas), as well as Representative Elise Stefanik (New York) and former Secretary of State Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson.

Donald Trump could obviously surprise everyone by choosing someone who is not on this list. However, less than a month before the Milwaukee meeting, Rubio, Scott, Vance and Burgum are considered the favorite candidates.

Electoral gains

Senators Rubio and Scott have in common that they come from communities in which Donald Trump could make gains in November. The first, born into a family of Cuban exiles and fluent in Spanish, could help the former president increase his gains with the Hispanic electorate. The other, raised in a poor environment by a single mother, could do the same with the black electorate.

Respected by the elite of the Grand Old Party, Senators Rubio and Scott could also reassure Republicans who are repelled by Donald Trump. Ditto for Doug Burgum, an entrepreneur who entered politics after making his fortune investing in technology companies.

On the other hand, JD Vance could not escape the MAGA (Make America Great Again) label. Even though he once feared Donald Trump, going so far as to describe him as “American Hitler” in 2016, the author of the best-seller Hillbilly Elegy and venture capitalist has become one of Trumpism’s most ardent and eloquent defenders.

And he continues to find new ways to show his loyalty to Donald Trump. During a long interview recently given to New York Timeshe justified the ex-president’s efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election and sympathized with the rioters or insurgents of January 6, 2021.

“We’re living in a moment where people are really angry, and I think it’s for legitimate reasons,” said the 39-year-old elected official. “And I don’t understand how, looking at the country we have today, we can say, ‘The January 6 riot was the worst expression of that.’ »

Trump ‘will be president’

Like JD Vance, most of Donald Trump’s potential running mates refuse to promise to accept the results of the next presidential election, no matter who wins.

“At the end of the day, the 47^e President of the United States will be President Donald Trump,” replied Tim Scott in an interview last month with Kristen Welker, host of the show Meet the Press.

After the interviewer insisted that he answer “yes or no” to the question of whether he will respect the results of the November vote, the senator simply said: “That’s my statement.” »

You obviously have to have a particular ambition or personality to want to become Donald Trump’s vice-president. Especially after Mike Pence’s experience. The latter almost passed after being condemned by his boss on Twitter following his refusal to stop the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election by Congress.

“Hang Mike Pence!” Hang Mike Pence! “, Donald Trump supporters chanted during the attack on the Capitol.

At the White House, the 45^e president shrugged his shoulders upon learning of the death threats aimed at his vice-president. “He deserves it,” he said, according to witnesses.

Loyalty. Abnegation. And what else? The word “photogenic” often comes up among the qualities Donald Trump looks for in a vice-presidential candidate.

“Does it look good on television?” he often asks those around him. Who is the best on television? »

Doug Burgum seems to have heard of these questions. Since 1^er In May, he appeared on at least 33 television and web shows, more than the combined total of JD Vance and Marco Rubio, according to the Bulwark website.

Will this be enough to convince the ex-star of the show The Apprentice to say: “You’re hired”?