With former President Donald Trump having already formally launched his 2024 campaign, attention has turned to who he might choose as his running mate and prospective vice president.
One name that has increasingly garnered mention is that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has long been an outspokenly loyal supporter of the former president, and she may be making moves now to try and secure that spot on the Trump ticket, the Conservative Brief reported.
Of course, it is still relatively early in the 2024 cycle to be picking a running mate just yet, and the names of several other potential candidates to be Trump’s running mate have also been floated that merit discussion among the Republican base.
“Sees herself on the shortlist”
In an exclusive report, NBC News claimed that Rep. Greene was “angling to be Donald Trump’s running mate in 2024,” per two sources, one anonymous and the other on the record.
Going on the record was former top Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who said of Greene and her purported plans for a political future, “This is no shrinking violet. She’s ambitious — she’s not shy about that, nor should she be.”
“She sees herself on the shortlist for Trump’s VP. Paraphrasing Cokie Roberts, when MTG looks in the mirror she sees a potential president smiling back,” he continued in reference to the late famed political journalist.
“She’s both strategic and disciplined — she made a power move, knowing it would run up hard against her most ardent crew,” Bannon said with respect to Greene’s alignment with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that angered some of her anti-McCarthy Freedom Caucus allies. “She was prepared to take the intense heat/hatred short-term for the long-term goal of being a player.”
“People shouldn’t get wrapped up into rumors.”
As for the unnamed source for NBC News, who was described as somebody who has advised both Rep. Greene and former President Trump, they concurred with Bannon that Greene was likely on Trump’s shortlist and said of the congresswoman that her “whole vision is to be vice president.”
Of course, that isn’t the message emanating from Greene’s office, as spokesman Nick Dyer told the outlet, “Congresswoman Greene is laser-focused on serving the people of Northwest Georgia on her new committees in the GOP majority,” and added, “Her work on Oversight, Homeland Security, and the COVID Select committee is her priority and people shouldn’t get wrapped up into rumors.”
Greene herself told NBC News, with respect to Bannon’s comments, “I haven’t even talked to Steve Bannon about it.”
Top surrogate and fundraiser popular with MAGA base
This actually isn’t the first time that Rep. Greene has been floated as a potential 2024 running mate for former President Trump, as Fox News reported as such in October 2022, more than a month before Trump formally announced his candidacy.
It was duly noted at that time that Greene had seemingly become Trump’s top surrogate on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections and had appeared alongside the former president at more of his rallies in that election cycle, no matter where they were held, than any other elected official.
“She’s well-known among the grassroots, especially the MAGA crowd, and a good fundraiser. So she brings something to the table as a VP-pick,” GOP consultant Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News. “Greene is also kind of tried and tested because she’s been under the microscope since coming to Congress. Sure, she’s said some controversial stuff, but so has Trump, and he’s the most popular person within the Republican Party.”
Greene herself, in an interview with Fox News in August at CPAC in Dallas, expressed openness to the idea and said, “Those are things I’m definitely interested in, as long as I think they’re achievable and I can be effective in those roles. But we’ll see what happens down the road.”
