The race to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick is really heating up

Considering how Donald Trump’s last vice president nearly got killed after his boss complained about him, you would wonder why anyone would want the job. But ambition always outpaces common sense, so this weekend the leading contenders made a pilgrimage to Florida to help raise money for Trump’s campaign and audition for the number two spot.

Showing up in Palm Beach was a who’s who of MAGA faithful and faux faithful: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-TX).

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Kristi Noem’s puppy murder mirrors the brutality of the entire MAGA universe

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Some wannabes have more to offer Trump than others. Here’s a rundown of the leading candidates.

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Tim Scott. The South Carolina senator would bring some advantages to the ticket. As a Black man, Scott would provide Trump with some defense from his racism. Scott is also a strong fundraiser, which will be important for the campaign. Most importantly, he’s been loyal to Trump, even when running against him. He would be a reassuring pick for the establishment Republicans who remain in the party and might even make some inroads with Black voters. In a tight race, that could make a difference. (As a Black Congressman, Donalds offers a similar advantage but without the same high profile.)

Kristi Noem. For a long time, Noem seemed like a frontrunner until it turned out that the South Dakota governor never met a dog she didn’t want to kill. Noem keeps doubling down on this career-killing revelation, suggesting that she’d kill President Joe Biden’s dog as well. (She also lied about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.) By all accounts, she took her career to a gravel pit and shot it.

Marco Rubio. No one has fallen farther than Rubio. Rubio used to be the future of the GOP. Now he’s reduced to sucking up to Trump. It’s hard to see what Rubio would bring to the ticket. He’s a throwback to the old Republican party, the one that Trump has reduced to ashes. Perhaps Trump wants to gloat about that, but Rubio seems more like someone who would have been a part of Trump’s first term, not his second.

Doug Burgum. If you want obscurity, the governor of North Dakota is your man. But Burgum has one big advantage: he is genuinely wealthy. He started a software company that he later sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion. As such, he could help fund a campaign if he’s part of it. On the other hand, Trump is famously touchy about his own net worth, which probably isn’t in the same range. He may not want to be compared to Burgum and be found wanting.

Elise Stefanik. “She’d poison her mother to get two points on Election Day.” That’s how one Republican strategist describes Stefanik. Stefanik was formerly a moderate Republican from upstate New York until she held her finger in the wind and realized the wind was blowing in Trump’s direction. She has since become a feral defender of Trump. Still, her MAGA conversion has always seemed more convenient than authentic.

J.D. Vance. Vance, the author of The Hillbilly Elegy, owes his Senate seat to Trump (and Peter Thiel), and he knows it. He has fashioned himself as the kind of MAGA populist that Trump needs in the Senate. But Trump may be happy to keep him there. For one thing, Trump may not trust Vance, and with reason. Before he became a fan, Vance called Trump an “idiot” who was “noxious” and “reprehensible.” Trump is probably looking for someone who has always been a believer, and that’s not Vance.

There are others in the offing, of course. As Trump’s former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders passes the loyalty test, and Trump likes her. However, he’s miffed that she didn’t endorse him immediately when he announced his candidacy. Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake has all but been living at Mar-a-Lago – so much so that Trump is reportedly fed up with her. For all her angling, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is nowhere in the running.

In the end, the choice will come down to Trump’s whims. The winner better be prepared to show subservience as Trump demands. They had also better be prepared for the legal bills that inevitably follow anyone associated with Trump.

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