Reflecting on a recent Daily Beast report that Donald Trump has a "short list" of possible 2024 vice presidential running mates made up of female lawmakers past and present conservative columnist Matt Lewis suggested none of the choices may give him the boost he needs.
He then added one possibility in particular, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), could end up being a nightmare in the way that former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) was for Sen. John McCain's presidential run in 2008.
According to the earlier Beast report, "Trumpworld has been bandying about the names of Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), along with a third contender who has already begun to rankle corners of Trumpworld: Tulsi Gabbard," none of whom Lewis is enamored with, although he thinks Gabbard is such an outlier politically that Trump may well pick her.
Calling the reported possible running mate choices "a smorgasbord of bad options," Lewis wrote, "In a sane world, none of these names would be within a mile of the vice presidency, much less on a 'short list.'"
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In the case of Stefanik, a former moderate who threw in her lot with Trump to force her way into the GOP leadership, Lewis wrote, "Trump did business with Elise Stefanik. Trump liked Elise Stefanik. But Trump never trusted Elise Stefanik (at least, according to what Trump insiders told The New York Times)."
Taylor Greene presents an altogether different challenge as a Trump running mate and she could end up turning into his greatest nightmare if he adds her to the ticket because of her tendency to be a rhetorical bomb thrower.
"Meanwhile, the problem with Greene (you know, aside from the QAnon and Jewish space lasers stuff) is that she’s a threat," he warned. "The thing Trump cares about more than anything is getting all the attention, and Greene could become Sarah Palin to Trump’s John McCain—which is to say that she could eclipse Trump at his own rallies and with his own fan base."
He added, "Remember why Trump settled for Mike Pence instead of Newt Gingrich back in 2016? As Newt put it, you can’t have two “pirates” on the same ticket. Well, MTG strikes me as a pirate, too, which is why she will walk the plank over shark-infested waters."
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