We heard in January that Donald Trump was considering Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene as his running partner in 2024. As a raving lunatic who, among other things, believes QAnon’s claims about Democrats being Satanic cannibal pedophiles, insists there’s no evidence a plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, and claims the Clintons killed JFK Jr., the Georgia Republican is obviously a perfect complement to the most deranged president in modern history. But Greene isn’t the only certifiably weird candidate Trump is interested in.
That’s right, according to Axios, Trump is also considering Kari Lake for VP. The former Tv host, like the 45th president, has no political experience, though, unlike Trump, she has never actually won an election. Nevertheless, don’t tell her!
Lake has claimed that since losing the Arizona governor race in November, the process was stolen from her; despite having her claims rejected by 2 different courts, she reportedly expects the Arizona Supreme Court will decide in her favor. Such defiance in the face of blatant facts is likely a big part of what Trump sees in her, along with the fact that, according to Axios, “she has shown she’s willing to defend him vociferously, no matter the issue or controversy.”
Prior to the 2022 midterm elections, Lake asked for her opponent to be jailed for certifying the 2020 election results, which Trump certainly enjoyed. She recently branded Maricopa County election officials “crooks” who should be “locked up” for not believing her own charges of election fraud.
Lake, by the way, isn’t the only one who thinks she’d make a great vice president: she won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll for GOP VP candidates over the weekend, beating out Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pompeo, Ted Cruz, and Mike Pence.
While this level of delusion is apparently no problem for Team Trump—and in fact, is apparently a selling point—friends of the former guy tell Axios that a “big downside” to adding Lake to the ticket is the fact that she could potentially “outshine” Trump, since she “would be assumed to be angling for president from the day she entered the White House.”
(In a statement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told the outlet: “Anyone who thinks they know what President Trump is going to do is seriously misinformed and trying to curry favor with ‘potential’ VP candidates. President Trump will choose his running mate on his own time, and those who are playing the media game are doing so at their own peril.”)
Lake and Marjorie Taylor Greene, in any case, are neither sure bets. Also, rumored to be under consideration? Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary for over two years and lied on Trump’s behalf. According to The New York Times, Trump recently requested Sanders to endorse him for president in 2024, but she rejected him for the time being.
Others close to Trump are said to think his former UN ambassador and current competition, Nikki Haley, “might be the best fit,” Axios adds. (In a shot at both Trump and Joe Biden, last month Haley called for “mandatory mental competency tests” for any politician over the age of 75.) Rounding out the reported shortlist is South Dakota governor and MAGA faithful Kristi Noem, who Trump confidants think has “strong veep potential.”
Speaking of Trump and vice presidents, Mike Pence will not be returning for a second round, though he has not ruled out voting for his former boss in 2024, despite the whole “Hang Mike Pence” business.