Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Trump-Vivek ticket: theorycrafting

Apparently, this could happen:

But before we get too excited, let's step back for a second. Plenty of commentators have pointed out that both Vivek and Ron DeSantis were labeled "MAGA Lite" along with people like Kari Lake. These are people who, for the most part, are on board with the majority of Trump's agenda. What a potential president wants is to bring in voters from other sectors of the populace, which is why people have seriously talked about Tulsi Gabbard as a possible running mate. She's softened her stance on the Second Amendment (she used to be fairly anti-gun but has become more pro-gun over the past year or so), is no longer a Democrat (now Independent), and she can attract moderates, women, and maybe even some liberals who might be fooled into thinking she's still fully a liberal. But what does someone like Vivek bring? Vivek brings his energy, formidable intelligence, and obvious enthusiasm for the MAGA project, which makes him a good bulwark for Trump, but because he cleaves so closely to the MAGA agenda, the only people he can attract are the already-converted. That's a major problem. But we'll see. Trump has openly said he likes people who like him, and he has fewer points of disagreement with Vivek than with Tulsi Gabbard, so Vivek is a plausible running mate—despite Vivek's own avowal not to play second fiddle to anyone. It's politics, baby, and these people—as much as I might like some of them—are never to be taken literally. One advantage Vivek brings over Mike Pence: he probably won't betray Trump. Probably.



2 comments:

  1. I don't think any running mate is going to overcome the hatred of the anti-Trumpers. Might as well go all in MAGA and fulfilling the promise of fixing all the shit that Biden has broken.

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  2. I agree that the TDS-addled crowds are beyond hope, but what we're talking about here is the fence-sitters, and there's a lot of them. I wouldn't mind a Trump-Tulsi ticket if for no other reason than that she's easy on the eyes. (More seriously, I like her new priorities.) Also, Trump does have an uphill battle when it comes to rehabilitating his reputation as a sexist. Even his staunchest supporters are pretty sure he shtupped Stormy Daniels, so having Tulsi on the ticket could show he appreciates her brains.

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