Democrats are attempting to paint everyone Donald Trump is considering to be his running mate as extreme as the former president narrows a field of Republicans vying to be his next vice president.
Trump’s reported short list covers a breadth of personalities and backgrounds. He is considering business-minded Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), who has risen up the list despite his mild demeanor, in addition to more combative Republicans such as Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Byron Donalds (R-FL).
Many have embraced Trump’s “America First” populism, but all have their policy niches. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is known as one of the bigger China and border hawks in the party.
The contenders, most of whom are serving in Congress, give Trump a chance to court different sets of voters. Three of the names on his list are black Republicans who could help make inroads with the minority vote.
But Democrats have attempted to zero in on the perceived loyalty of the hopefuls to negate those distinctions, arguing that each would be a “MAGA extremist” who would do Trump’s bidding if elected in November.
“Republicans want voters to think that this group of MAGA lackeys will somehow temper Trump’s crazier impulses. It’s Mike Pence all over again, and look how that worked out last time,” one operative told the Washington Examiner. “With the former president urging a mob toward the Capitol to hang his own vice president.”
Since mid-May, more than a month before Trump’s short list was narrowed this past week, the Democratic National Committee and the Biden-Harris campaign have been sending out “MAGA Veepstakes” memos to reporters and interested parties.
“Trump has floated dozens of names, and while he trots them around like sad show ponies on the campaign trail, it doesn’t really matter who’s in his good graces one day and who’s shooting their dog the next,” DNC communications director Rosemary Boeglin said of the effort. “Trump’s VP contenders have all already shown they pass his extreme, MAGA litmus test.”
The email blasts focus on four areas: abortion, healthcare, tax policy, and the results of the 2020 general election.
DNC officials tell the Washington Examiner that they also plan to run “MAGA Veepstakes” ads on national television and radio broadcasts before the Republican convention in July, when Trump has said he will announce his running mate.
The focus on Trump’s vice presidential pick follows months of scrutiny over whether President Joe Biden’s own running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, will drag down the ticket or at least not help it as much as some other Democrats might.
Harris has been an oft-criticized target for Republicans since she entered office alongside Biden in January 2021.
Early in their term, Biden saddled Harris with handling a ballooning border crisis, and GOP lawmakers and officials frequently mock Harris’s “rambling and circular” public statements and gaffes, as one Republican Hill staffer described her demeanor to the Washington Examiner.
But the experience she has accrued as Biden’s No. 2, plus her ability to appeal to black voters — she is the first black woman to serve as vice president — is also considered an asset no matter the early grumbling over her position within the party.
“Voters decided in 2020 that President Biden was their best chance to keep Donald Trump out of the White House for another four years, but Vice President Harris represents where this country is headed in the future,” a Democratic operative familiar with inner discussions of the Biden team stated.
“The first black female vice president. A true progressive who’s able to help the president evolve on issues that truly matter to young voters. That’s who Kamala Harris is,” the operative added, “and we need her, learning by President Biden’s side, to not only stop Trump from winning again but also help the country move toward a better future for all Americans.”
Her candidacy has forced Republicans to consider diversifying their ticket, with vice presidential hopefuls such as Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) even emphasizing their possible appeal to the minority vote as Trump weighs his decision. Earlier this month, Scott put millions into an effort to turn out black voters in November.
“This time around, Trump’s list includes three black men and one of the most visible GOP women in Congress,” one strategist said. “He’s clearly making a play for minority voters, which is why you see the president’s campaign and allies in overdrive, reminding the country who these people are before Trump can make his selection.”
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Should Trump choose someone like Stefanik or Scott, it could help Trump eat away at Democrats’ margins in blue strongholds and might appeal to suburban voters. But Democrats, including Harris herself, have set out to argue voters should see nothing but an “enabler” of Trump as they consider whether to give him a second term.
“What we know is that Donald Trump wants an enabler. He doesn’t want a governing partner. He doesn’t want another Mike Pence, and I think that is clear,” Harris said in an interview with Politico on Monday. “The litmus test is, are they going to be absolutely loyal to Trump over country or their oath of office, or, frankly, the American people?”
