A surprising contender surfaces in race to be Trump's VP pick

Back in 2016, just 6 percent of Black voters backed Donald Trump as a presidential candidate, per data from the Pew Research Center. That number rose, albeit slightly, to 8 percent in 2020.

But a Gallup survey from earlier this month revealed that 19 percent of Black adults identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.

Trump, ever the opportunist, has sought to use that data to his advantage — in spite of his long-standing background of racist actions and comments. Might the Republican frontrunner, who once declared himself “the least racist person that you’ve ever encountered,” become convinced that a Black running mate will give him an electoral edge over President Joe Biden?

During a town hall-style forum in South Carolina last week, Trump acknowledged the possibility. And not only is Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) — the nation’s only Black Republican senator — on his vice presidential shortlist, but so, too, is Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL).

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Donalds, a Black lawmaker who has represented the Sunshine State’s 19th Congressional District since January 2021, is not yet a household name nationally. But the 45-year-old has risen quickly in the Republican Party, a fact evidenced by his spot on Trump’s shortlist.

Which begs the question: How did Donalds get to this point, and does he have a legitimate chance at being Trump’s running mate?

When asked about being on Trump’s shortlist, Donalds deflected.

“Man, it’s cool. It’s kinda surreal,” he told Spectrum News on Thursday, after his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. “But, you know what, you just work hard, do your job, don’t worry about much else.”

Donalds’ press team did not reply to a request for comment.

Modesty aside, Donalds has been angling to be in Trump’s corner for some time now.

An unsuccessful Tea Party candidate in the 2012 election to represent the 19th District in the House of Representatives, he later was elected to the Florida House in 2016.

During his 2020 House campaign, Donalds was unequivocal about his political identity, deeming himself a “Trump-supporting, liberty-loving, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment Black man.”

Since taking office, his legislative focus has been more granular. A member of the Financial Services and Oversight and Accountability committees, Donalds has sponsored bills to promote the use of nuclear energy and expand the oversight authority of the Small Business Administration.

He also launched a short-lived candidacy for speaker of the House last year. Prior to current Speaker Mike Johnson capturing the gavel, Donalds received 119 votes across four separate ballots.

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Donalds has also wasted no time displaying his fealty to the 45th president. After being sworn in on Jan. 3, 2021, the then-42-year-old voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania, two swing states won by Biden, just three days later — after Congress reconvened in the wake of the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Once the 2024 race ramped up, he displayed that loyalty to Trump once again.

In April, Donalds endorsed Trump for the Republican nomination, saying, “There is only one leader at this time in our nation’s history who can seize this moment and deliver what we need to get us back on track, provide strength and resolve.”

The endorsement came despite Donalds’ longtime allyship with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was yet to officially announce his presidential campaign. DeSantis entered the race in May, but initially high hopes for the Floridian gave way to a campaign marred by public missteps, internal friction and an inability to effectively spar with the always aggressive Trump.

In August, Donalds piled on, telling The Washington Post amid DeSantis’ summer swoon that “it’s kind of what I expected to see.”

DeSantis suspended his campaign prior to January’s New Hampshire primary and endorsed Trump.

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Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is the lone challenger left in the race. Trump easily defeated her in Michigan’s primary this week, and Super Tuesday is just over a week away — Trump is all but assured of defeating Haley in each of the 15 states and one territory in play that day.

Trump remains the frontrunner over Haley despite numerous legal woes — the former president faces 91 felony charges across four criminal cases pending within courtrooms in Florida, Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C. Trump has also been found liable for sexual assault, defamation and fraud across separate civil cases.

Donalds, though, has stood by Trump. On Sunday, during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, Donalds said that the Trump criminal cases are a form of “political persecution from the Department of Justice and from radical DAs throughout our country.”

He even defended the former president drawing parallels between the indictments and how African Americans have been treated by the justice system, saying that he wasn’t offended by it.

“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time, and a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against,” Trump said on Friday, during the Black Conservative Federation gala in Columbia, S.C.

“What Americans don't want to see, especially Black Americans and anybody else, they don't want to see a politicized Justice Department,” Donalds said on Meet the Press. “They don't want to see a two-tier system of justice. They want justice to be followed.

“They want Lady Justice to be blind. That's what the American people want. That's what Black voters want. That's what everybody wants.”

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Donalds’ reward, for now, is a spot on Trump’s vice presidential shortlist.

But does Donalds have a legitimate chance at being tabbed for the role?

According to a straw poll taken at CPAC last week, Donalds wasn’t attendees’ first (or second, or third, or fourth) choice.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were the top two choices (both with 15 percent of the vote), followed by former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii with 9 percent, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Scott, each with 8 percent.

Then, it’s Donalds at 7 percent. He may not be the frontrunner — gambling site Oddschecker doesn’t even offer odds on him — but Trump’s mere mentioning of his name makes Donalds a factor.

One thing is certain: If Donalds is asked, he’ll accept the position.

He said so at CPAC, reiterating what he said on SiriusXM in November.

“I want to do everything to help win back the White House,” Donalds told The New York Post at CPAC last week.

That goal could include a spot as Trump’s running mate — the first Black American ever on a Republican presidential ticket.