Kristi Noem thought the political world would be impressed by her story of executing a dog, but she seems to have misjudged her fellow Republicans — including, most critically, Donald Trump.
In the span of a few days, the South Dakota governor reportedly tanked her shot at becoming Trump’s running mate when a section of her forthcoming memoir, obtained by the Guardian, described her decision to lead a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket to a gravel pit and shoot her dead. The pup was overly aggressive and bad at hunting, Noem wrote. RIP Cricket!
But if Noem’s out, there are still plenty of people on Trump’s VP shortlist who haven’t killed dogs — that we know of!
J.D. Vance
The first-term Ohio senator is reportedly near the top of Trump’s VP list.
And unlike Noem, Vance has already had to confront what seemed like his most damaging electoral baggage in his 2022 race: He’s previously bashed Trump, calling him “noxious,” an “idiot” and “reprehensible.”
Now Trump and Vance are thick as thieves, although Vance claims that he and Trump haven’t discussed the possibility of running together.
“I talk to President Trump a lot. We’re very close. I’ve never spoken to him about being vice president. So, I assume that a lot of this is media speculation,” Vance said recently on Fox News.
Marco Rubio
It’s unclear how serious Trump is about choosing the Florida senator, since the 12th Amendment prohibits Florida’s 30 Electoral College members from voting for a president and vice president who both live in Florida, and that’s where Trump now resides. To run with Trump, Rubio would theoretically have to move and give up his Senate seat.
Rubio, who ran against Trump for president in 2016, offered a testy response to the speculation this week.
“I’m glad to learn that from the media. I’ll let you guys pick where I’m gonna move, how’s that?” he told reporters at the Capitol. “No one’s offered any jobs, so why would I answer…
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