Dem
51
GOP
49
After a second debate performance that many observers said was stellar, Nikki Haley was riding high. She has no chance at being the Republican presidential nominee, but maybe she had a shot at being Donald Trump's running mate. After all, he might decide that having a woman on the ticket could help him with women voters and she has a substantial amount of experience, as a legislator (majority whip in the South Carolina House), as a governor (of South Carolina), and as a diplomat (ambassador to the United Nations). She is also an effective public speaker. Her actual track record shows that she is also plenty conservative. On paper she looks pretty good.
But Trump is not impressed with Haley. He called her a "birdbrain," which is clearly not true. She was certainly one of the most intelligent people on the debate stage. So why did he write on his boutique social media site: "No loyalty, plenty of lies"? And also: "Anyway, Birdbrain doesn't have the TALENT or TEMPERAMENT to do the job"? The answer may be that much earlier in the cycle she said: "I will never run against our great President. He has done an outstanding job." Then she decided to run against him anyway, which is unpardonable as far as he is concerned. And "unpardonable" is something he cares about a lot. Her response to Trump's comment was: "Love this. It means we are in 2nd and moving up fast. Bring it!"
During the second debate, Haley agreed with Trump's views on China in terms of economic policies, but said that he dropped the ball on other issues, like shipping fentanyl to the U.S., placing a base in Cuba, and sending spy balloons over the U.S. Criticizing Trump is a fatal flaw, of course.
Our conclusion is that Trump is not going to pick Haley as his veep. If he did, the Democrats would go wild repeating his quote above about her. So who's left? Not many women. Pretend-governor Kari Lake looks like she is set on a Senate run in Arizona. If Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is really having a long-running affair with Corey Lewandowski, it would be dangerous to pick her because the right-leaning women who might appreciate having a woman on the ticket would probably not appreciate one who is cheating on her husband. Maybe Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), although she is only 39, has faked her whole career as a Trumpist, and has a toddler at home. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) makes Sarah Palin look like a math whiz. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is Boebert-level loony. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) voted for certification on Jan. 6, 2021, so not her. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) is a possibility, though. Also Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA). How about Ivanka? Oh wait, she lives in Florida now. Other than the two Iowans, there are not a lot of plausible Republican women out there who could help the ticket. Picking one of the Iowa women and announcing it before the caucus would probably sew up the nomination right then and there. In the end, Trump might conclude there are no suitable women and pick a man. There are plenty of potential candidates among men, from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is white, to Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is Black, and many others. Of course, if Trump goes with someone who is actively representing Florida in Congress, then the former president will have to establish residency elsewhere, just to avoid the risk of getting stuck with a Democrat as his VP. (V)