When It Comes To Picking A Vice President, Donald Trump Could Keep It All In The Family
There is no doubt that the 2016 election is shaping up to be one of the strangest elections in recent history.
But there is always room for a little more strangeness, and as both the presumptive Republican nominee and former reality star Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton solidify their standing within their parties, the attention turns now to what is being termed the “Veepstakes.”
In other words — who will pick who to run with them as their vice president?
Names have been floated around for months, with Donald Trump and his potential vice president pick garnering much of the media’s attention. CNN reported that the list of vice president picks for Trump is narrowing, and those who are left on the list represent a wide range of styles. Should Trump double down on his own brash, often bombastic style with a pick like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has certainly been a major contender for the vice president slot, or even former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who seems more than willing to take the role? Or does he try to tone down the volatile style of his campaign with a pick that represents discipline, experience, and Washington know-how, such as Indiana Governor Mike Pence? Or, in Apprentice-style fashion, will Trump choose to point a finger at a rising star and catapult them onto the national stage? In that case, Trump could very well pick someone like Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, or Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton as his vice president.
And at just two weeks before the Republican National Convention, Trump’s vice presidential search — and massive speculation about who he’ll pick — is at a fever pitch.
But Chris Stirewalt, of Fox News, had perhaps the strangest suggestion about whom Donald Trump should choose as his running mate, and with Donald Trump’s willingness to throw all rules and tradition to the side, as well as this entire election season’s unpredictability, the suggestion may not be as crazy as it sounds.
Donald Trump could choose to turn the presidency into a family business.
CHARLES PAYNE (HOST): Chris, and finally, no woman [for Trump’s vice presidential pick]. Would that be seen as pandering, then, if Donald Trump went after a woman?
CHRIS STIREWALT: Yes, but sometimes it works. I mentioned Jan Brewer, former governor of Arizona, only because Republicans hate her. A lot of Republicans hate her. She hates a lot of Republicans. She has been a thorn in the side of her own party and of Democrats. She’s kind of trans-partisan. But my favorite pick, my absolutely favorite pick, I think, is his daughter Ivanka. I think that is the best choice that he could make. You Trump the Trump. Everybody likes her. Has anybody ever said that they didn’t like her? Everybody likes her. I think Trump would be smart to choose — I know this is crazy. I know this sounds totally crazy, Charles, but I think he would be smart to pick his own daughter, put her on there and say, “We’re the Trumps, this is the family business, this is what we do. I’m going to make the big decisions; she’s going to run the day-to-day, and it’s going to be fantastic.”
PAYNE: You know I got to tell you something, there might be something to that. She’s extraordinarily popular. Certainly her favorable’s a lot higher than the dad’s. Right?
STIREWALT: Yes. Yes. And you know what? My point in all of this is, when it’s a crazy election year, when weird stuff is happening, you got to embrace the weird. You cannot try to fight it and go straight at the end.
Watch the video below, and tell us — would choosing Ivanka Trump be a crazy move, or a smart political move for Donald Trump?
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
