“Your Core Conviction Is This Race Is Going to Be Close” Trump’s Running Mate Choice Criticized
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Donald Trump’s decision to select J.D. Vance as his running mate for the 2024 election might already be outdated, according to MSNBC’s John Heilemann. Trump’s choice, initially seen as a strategic move for a close race, now appears misaligned with the current political landscape.
Trump had been banking on a rematch with President Joe Biden. However, Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election, citing widespread concerns about his age. Political analyst John Heilemann shared his insights on “Morning Joe,” suggesting that Trump might regret his decision to embrace MAGA extremism as Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as the likely Democratic nominee.
“Your core conviction is this race is going to be close,” Heilemann said. “Donald Trump and his team’s core conviction is it is not going to be close. They came into the convention, and for a long time, Donald Trump was thinking a much safer caretaker kind of pick [for running mate]. That’s why Doug Burgum was in the race, Marco Rubio, people who were very safe.”
Heilemann elaborated on the shift in Trump’s strategy: “By the time they got – he made his decision at the last minute, from all the reporting we can tell, started to shift toward the notion of a legacy pick in the last month or so before the Republican convention, but he finally made his decision after the assassination attempt. By that time, within the Trump campaign, there is a view they’re headed for a landslide. They thought that before the debate, they thought Donald Trump was on his way to winning 320 electoral votes. This is what they told Tim Alberta before the debate.”
He continued, “After the debate and assassination attempt, I sat in a room with Tony Fabrizio in Milwaukee, the Trump pollster. He said [they] stopped counting the paths we have to 270 electoral votes when [they] got to 25. They are thinking, convinced they’ll win 330 electoral votes, a landslide.”
Heilemann highlighted the underlying belief driving Trump’s choice: “I’m not saying that’s correct, but if you believe that, you don’t care about — you’re making your vice presidential pick not on the basis of a close race but on the basis of we’re about to change American politics. I’m going to put someone who I think will be the heir to MAGA. That is what the calculation was, I think, and, yes, it was the total doubling down pick, not a pick for a close race.”
The selection of J.D. Vance, a staunch supporter of Trump’s MAGA agenda, signifies a commitment to solidifying Trump’s political legacy rather than a tactical move for a tightly contested election. As the political dynamics continue to evolve with Harris potentially leading the Democratic ticket, Trump’s decision will likely face increased scrutiny and debate within the Republican Party and beyond.
