Predictions about who former President Donald Trump will choose as his running mate have yielded a short list of possibilities, the Washington Post reported. Some, like columnist Max Boot, believe Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio would be the best option, but Trump has yet to choose.
Boot believes that Trump's pick for vice president is more consequential than usual. "Conventional wisdom holds that vice presidents don’t matter much, either in elections, because voters choose based on the top of the ticket, or in practice because they have few assigned duties," Boot wrote.
"But Joe Biden’s choice of Kamala D. Harris in 2020 is shaping up to be a momentous decision now that the president might have to leave the race following his disastrous debate performance. So, too, will former president Donald Trump’s soon-to-be-announced choice of a running mate be significant," Boot wrote.
The New York Times bestselling author floated the Republican possibilities, including Rubio, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Only time will tell who Trump thinks is best, but Boot and others have their ideas.
As Boot pointed out, "Trump could always surprise," but most agree that his likely choices include one of the three. "All three are born-again Trumpkins who, in the past, were bitterly critical of the man they now seek to serve," Boot pointed out.
"Vance once said Trump could be 'America’s Hitler,' Rubio called him a 'con artist,' and Burgum said he would never do business with him, because 'you’re judged by the company you keep.' But, although united in hypocrisy, the three men are separated by their policy views — particularly on foreign affairs," Boot added.
"For U.S. allies worried about the future of American foreign policy should Trump return to office (and most of them are), Vance would be the worst possible choice. Rubio and Burgum would be more reassuring selections," the columnist said.
"To be sure, all three men mouth similar MAGA pieties, but Rubio and Burgum don’t sound as if they mean it. Vance, by contrast, sounds like a true believer with the zeal of a convert," Boot claimed.
Boot went on to point out that Vance has held firm against funding the Ukraine war and is more of a "populist-nationalist" than the others. "Rubio and Burgum are much more traditional — and hence less alarming — in their foreign policy views, notwithstanding their mental gyrations to please the MAGA base," Boot claimed.
While Boot and others have all but chosen Rubio as the only man for the job, the ticket hits one major snag: both Trump and Rubio are Florida residents, according to ABC News. The news outlet pointed out that the 12th Amendment to the Constitution forbids it.
"If Trump selected Rubio as his running mate, electors from Florida could not vote for both Trump and Rubio under the 12th Amendment. But it would be perfectly fine for electors from the other 49 states to vote for both," the news outlet clarified.
That would mainly impact them in Florida and award Trump fewer delegates than available. However, the majority of the other states give all of the electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote in that state.
The only alternative would be for one of them to move out of the state, which would most likely fall to Rubio since Trump has gone to great lengths to exit his previous home state of New York. If that were the case, Rubio could then jeopardize his senate seat.
Regardless of who the media wants Trump to choose, it won't matter to voters. Trump has his own loyal following, and many Democrats are fleeing from Biden in droves regardless of who else is on the ticket.
