A CNN panel argued Monday that former President Donald Trump would only accept a running mate who had no personal choice and was willing to suffer humiliation on his behalf.
In discussing Trump’s running mate candidates, David Frum, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, argued that Sen. J.D. Vance and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum were too independent-minded to be candidates.
“He learned a lesson from Mike Pence,” he said. “He thought Pence was submissive and subservient, but at the last moment Pence showed integrity and loyalty to the Constitution, and it nearly got him killed.”
This last point refers to the fact that Pence refused to go along with Trump’s unconstitutional plan to overturn the certified election results and was targeted by a mob of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol and demanded that Pence be hanged.
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Turning to Vance and Burgum, Frum explained why they might be excluded from Trump’s nomination pool.
“J.D. Vance is not a man of integrity, but he is a man of great intelligence,” Frum said. “Trump can’t trust him. Same with Doug Burgum… he has no charisma, but he has great accomplishments. Trump can’t trust him! But Tim Scott is trustworthy because he has zeroes, and Marco Rubio is trustworthy because he’s mentally bankrupt. So I think Trump will look for someone less significant.”
Democratic strategist Kate Bedingfield echoed Frum’s overall sentiment, predicting that Trump’s running mate would need to have a high level of humiliation.
“He’s trying to humiliate these people and they’re happy to let it happen,” she said.
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