A new report says former President Donald Trump is looking at Kari Lake as a model for what he wants in a running mate, but that does not mean the spot is hers.
Speculation is rampant, particularly after the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, at which Lake topped a straw poll for GOP vice presidential candidate in 2024.
With 20 percent of the vote, she led Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won 14 percent of the vote, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who received 10 percent, according to The Hill.
Lake, who is in the middle of a court battle over the 2022 governor’s race in Arizona — which she contends was marred by mistakes — has said that for now, her focus is on that battle, not 2024.
BREAKING: Out of 30 contenders, @KariLake wins @CPAC straw poll for Vice President.
We’re flattered, but unfortunately our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time. pic.twitter.com/gFV3z3wtxB
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) March 4, 2023
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump, said only Trump knows what he wants to do.
“Anyone who thinks they know what President Trump is going to do is seriously misinformed,” he said, according to Axios.
“President Trump will choose his running mate on his own time, and those who are playing the media game are doing so at their own peril.”
Would Lake be a good pick for vice president?
Yes: 94% (79 Votes)
No: 6% (5 Votes)
But Axios was willing to risk said peril in identifying three other women bandied about as Trump’s potential VP picks.
One is an opponent for the GOP nomination — Haley, once Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary for part of the Trump presidency, was also on the shortlist Axios compiled, as was South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
In a November Op-Ed for The Washington Times, conservative writer Cheryl Chumley promoted the potential Trump-Lake ticket.
“Davos, Democrats and no-good Republicans who’d rather hang with the cocktail crowd than fight for America’s Constitution would hate a Trump-Lake match,” she wrote.
“So, too, the United Nations, World Economic Forum and World Health Organization. So, too, Chinese President Xi Jinping. So, too, Russia, North Korea, Iran and other dictators, socialists, communists, Marxists and tyrants of the world.
“That’s what makes the Trump-Lake ticket so great. It’s pure MAGA-Again. Unapologetically pro-American. Trump-Lake 2024. It’s exactly what America needs to rid the rot and clear the stench of the remaining two years of Joe Biden.”
