![]() Anything outside of those two goals is nothing but a distraction.”Ī person close to Lake said that she has had no formal discussions about the role is currently gearing up for a potential run for the Senate. She said in a statement that she is “100% dedicated to serving as Arizona Governor” - even though Democrat Katie Hobbs, who defeated Lake, now holds the job - and “will also work to make sure President Trump gets back in the White House ASAP. She is seen as unequivocally loyal to the former president, but detractors note she lost her only race and continues to dispute the results, which would draw attention to Trump’s own election failures and intensify criticism that he is too focused on the past. While Trump is looking for someone with star power, he has also signaled that he is reluctant to choose someone who might overshadow him in the race.Īmong those who are seen as most eager for the job is Lake, who is popular with Trump’s MAGA base and won - and then promoted - a CPAC straw poll that asked audience members whom they would like to see as the Republican vice presidential nominee. ![]() “I think this time Trump’s going to be looking for someone cut from the same cloth he is, not from a different, complementary cloth.” ![]() “I think the president learned a lot from his experience with Pence,” he said. Trump, this time, is looking for someone more like himself, said Michael Caputo, a longtime friend and adviser who believes Stefanik would be Trump’s best choice. In 2016, running as a celebrity businessman with no experience in politics, Trump chose a person who was, in many ways, his total opposite, picking the Indiana governor and former congressman who could bolster his standing with conservatives and the religious right. In those conversations, he has indicated his interest in selecting a woman this time around.īut allies say Trump is looking, first and foremost, for someone who will be unabashedly loyal after feeling burned by former Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to overturn the results of the 2020 election. While Trump, according to people who have spoken to him, is in no rush to make a decision and understands that he has to let the nomination process play out, he has nonetheless talked through possible choices since well before he formally announced his candidacy last fall. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Elise Stefanik of New York and Kari Lake, the news anchor-turned-failed-Arizona gubernatorial candidate who ended her remarks at a keynote event dinner by kissing a portrait of Trump that was placed on stage. The dynamic was on full display earlier this month at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where a trio of women who have been mentioned as possible contenders sat in the audience to cheer Trump’s headline speech. That, however, hasn’t stopped some could-be candidates from taking full advantage of opportunities to be in close proximity to Trump, at his club and at events. “We appreciate all support for President Trump, but the clear focus is on making sure that he wins the Republican nomination and is well-positioned to win the general election in 2024,” said Jason Miller, a longtime Trump adviser. Trump campaign officials insist that the vice presidential search is not something they have been actively discussing. Ron DeSantis, who is widely seen as his toughest potential GOP rival. ![]() But as a former president, Trump needs no introduction and is eager to project an air of inevitability around his campaign, particularly as attention builds around Florida Gov. The mere mention of a running mate this early in the process is a departure from the traditional timeline of presidential primaries, where candidates typically spend the opening months of a campaign introducing themselves to voters and sharing their visions for the country. “A lot of people are right now auditioning,” Trump boasted to supporters in Florida last month. But already, a shadow contest of another sort is underway with several Republicans openly jockeying to position themselves as potential running mates to Donald Trump, the early front-runner for the nomination. The first Republican presidential primaries are nearly a year away and the candidate field is unsettled.
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