By Tim Baldwin
The Washington Post named five most-likely vice president choices for Donald Trump if he wins the GOP nomination: 1) Marco Rubio, 2) John Kasich, 3) Joni Ernst, 4) Rick Scott and 5) Chris Christie. The National Review adds to those 1) Jeff Sessions, 2) Jan Brewer, 3) Scott Brown and 4) Sarah Palin. Who would be good for Trump –and America?
Trump’s popularity comes largely from disenfranchised Americans who like him for no other reason than he appears anti-establishment. While this has served Trump well in the primaries, he needs a broader base for the general. Only picking a more establishment type will serve that purpose. So, Palin or Brewer seem unhelpful.
Sessions has qualifications, but Trump doesn’t need help winning Alabama. Rubio and Ernst have been very harsh against Trump: they seem an unlikely fit. Christie supported Trump, but he is a miniature version of Trump. Trump needs more diversity of personality. Kasich, Scott or Brown seem most helpful: they hold respective credibility with establishment voters and would appeal to some centrists and independents.
Put winning aside momentarily. The vice presidents of American history have a less-than-monumental existence, but if Trump were elected, the vice president may prove especially needful in shaping domestic and foreign policies that were both constitutional and diplomatic, to avoid harsh reactions from Americans and foreign countries. Releasing political pressure is good for society, but not in the form of an explosion.
By Joe Carbonari
Top Republican politicians have to let their feelings about Donald Trump be known. Trump needs a running mate, a vice-presidential candidate. Many of the better known possibilities have expressed their distaste for the association. It risks their reputation. The vice presidential nomination has been likened to a deck seat on the Titanic with an uneasy feel about the trip.
The problem is that the country needs a good one.
It is conceivable that Trump could win. Unlikely, but conceivable. What then? Donald Trump, clearly, would need help. Who he gets it from, how good they are, and how well they would work together would determine how successful a team they made. We need a good team. So does the world.
Character and leadership will be required. Many may disapprove. It may be safer to keep one’s distance and affect the high road. I believe that Donald Trump would benefit from a strong moral compass, and the country would certainly need it if circumstance should put a Trump V.P. into the presidential office. Moral uncertainty could lead to chaos.
Of those mentioned neither Newt Gingrich nor Chris Christie leave me comfortable. John Kasich would be my choice. He is knowledgeable, solid, and safe. Donald Trump’s V. P. choice should not be a trip into the unknown.
It is our responsibility to help make our government work. We need to rebuild some good teams. Good people must participate lest others prevail.