Dirty tricks enter veep war as hopefuls 'show they can be a killer for Trump': report

Candidates are jockeying to become Donald Trump's running mate, and a recent episode underscores their skullduggery.

A report ran last week on Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) allegedly shopping around opposition research on Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) centered on her anti-Trump comments from 2016, but now The Daily Beast reports that there's speculation the New York Republican spread the story herself.

“Stefanik and her team’s willingness to throw others under the bus, or pitch oppo, or go after people to try and elevate her is well-known,” said a former House GOP leadership staffer, "and I think it’s quite likely that’s playing out in the veepstakes here.”

Trump was overheard recently at Mar-a-Lago praising Stefanik as "a killer," and that's a quality the former president prizes when considering potential running mates.

“Can people angle that way to show they can be a killer for Trump?” said a Trump-aligned GOP strategist.

Stefanik and Scott are both thought to be on Trump's shortlist, along with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson have also been mentioned as possibilities, but Trumpworld sources cautioned against trying too hard to get the ex-president's attention.

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“I do think the Trump campaign is trying to tamp down that this isn’t in their interests, and it needs to stop,” said a Trumpworld operative. “These people that are engaging in this, they don’t understand MAGA and the breadth and scope of what the deal is here. They’re on the outside looking in.”

Trump hopes to make his decision by June, and Republicans familiar with the discussions say the key individuals who must be persuaded are senior advisers Susie Wiles and Brian Jack, longtime aide Boris Epshteyn, and Trump’s adult sons, Eric and Donald Trump Jr.

“You just get exposed if you play too close to the sun this early,” said the Trump-aligned strategist, “and it’s just a bad look for everybody.”