Speculation is rampant about who former President Donald Trump might pick to fill the second slot on his ticket for 2024, but one name seems to have fallen a bit from the top spot it once occupied.
Ever since it became obvious that no one on the GOP side could topple Donald Trump from the Republican nomination, the media has turned to who might serve as Trump’s vice presidential running mate.
One candidate who has earned high consideration is South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, who ran for president himself before dropping out in November of last year.
The 58-year-old senator has been considered one of Trump’s top choices for much of the time since he suspended his campaign, mostly because it was thought that he could bring black votes for the former president.
As recently as May, for instance, Scott ranked very high on the veepstakes list. In polls at the time, Scott led the field by a long distance. The same polls found either Florida Sen. Marco Rubio or businessman Vivek Ramaswamy coming in a distant second.
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But Scott’s name may have lost some of its luster. The betting odds, for instance, have Scott sinking to third place, with former Trump Housing Secretary Ben Carson in second and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum now leading the odds.
The New York Post is now saying that Scott’s choice to serve as the GOP’s no. 2 is now “extremely unlikely.”
“You go down the list of reasons to choose a VP, and he isn’t a standout or game-changer in any category,” one Trump campaign insider told the paper.
The same insider also insisted that Scott “might not resonate with the black community in a way that’s worth putting him on the ticket.”
Would you pick Tim Scott as VP?
“His star has become less bright, for sure,” another well-connected source told the paper. “Still a top-five pick — but not the strongest.”
On the other hand, Scott has strong qualifications to serve in Trump’s cabinet, so he is not being cast aside, the insider said.
Yet another source added that Scott does not resonate on TV.
Still, Scott is in the top four most commonly cited possibilities, including Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, and the previously mentioned Gov. Burgum, who also unsuccessfully ran for president this year.
Others on the list include Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, along with Carson.
While many tout his name, it might seem unlikely that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio could be under consideration, since he hails from the same state Trump calls home. VPs are generally chosen from another region, with the thought that he or she should bring votes from another part of the country. Rubio also had a very contentious history with Trump when the two were running against each other in 2016. That could serve as a stumbling block for him.
Then there is the senator problem. Senators do not have a very successful history of running for the White House. Most senators who have run for president have lost, and in the past, voters have not considered senators to be reliable executives. Seventeen senators have served as president, but 50 have run for the office since 1972.
With that in mind, past governing experience is a big plus, and that might tend to lead to Burgum as a likely choice.
It has to be noted, though, that those who think they know how Donald Trump makes his decisions are likely fooling themselves.
