September 13, 2023

The duties of the vice president (V.P.) have changed dramatically over time.  From 1789 through the 1950s, the V.P.’s primary duty was to preside over the Senate.  Today, V.P.s have become far more involved in the administrative process.  They serve as principal advisers to the president, are expected to support and advance the policies and legislative agenda of the president, attend Cabinet meetings, and advise the president on a wide variety of issues.  The V.P. position is a stepping stone to the presidency.

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Until 1992, when Bill Clinton selected Al Gore for his experience, competence, and compatibility to make him an ideal “partner” in governing, running mates were selected to “balance” the ticket geographically and/or ideologically.  Gore’s successor V.P.s have played similar roles (except for the current V.P.).  Mike Pence proved to be an effective addition to the national ticket because he was perceived as an admired representative of the party’s mainstream; he helped to provide some stability and dissuade Trump from some ill-advised decisions in global affairs.  On the other hand, as chair of the Coronavirus Task Force, he managed to turn the pandemic response into a re-election-killing disaster and was, on January 6, 2021, derelict in a cowardly way in his failure to exercise his constitutional duty to send back disputed elector votes to the states for recertification.  Thanks to Pence’s described leadership incompetence and cowardice, we now have the V.P. anomaly of incomprehensible, Peter Principled Kamala Harris, apparently chosen solely for her gender and ethnicity.

President Trump’s probable ideal criteria for a 2024 running mate:

  1. A woman (i.e., an adult born female human being).  Trump significantly underperformed with female voters in 2016, when only 41% voted for him, and only 42% did the same in 2020.  He has substantial weakness with white suburban women, single women, young women, and swing-voter women.
  2. Middle-aged (age 40 to 60 years).  Trump’s V.P. would become his heir apparent and 2028 frontrunner.  There would potentially be four years of service as V.P., then eight years as president.
  3. Must be unfailingly loyal to Trump and the MAGA agenda, with a record of publicly defending him during his many travails against numerous coup d’état attempts and now pre-emptive coup d’état lawfare attempts.
  4. Does not overtly seek media attention; will not outshine him.
  5. Perceived by voters as a moderating influence on Trump’s impolitic impulses and relative political inexperience.
  6. Has leadership roles as U.S. senator, representative, or governor.
  7. Appeals to moderates, independents, swing voters, and voters outside Trump’s base or who have left the GOP.
  8. Has business world/entrepreneurship or military command position experience.
  9. Will help with the essential counterrevolutionary reforms, especially the disempowerment and dismantling of the Administrative and Deep States, and the advancement of Trump’s legislative agenda through Congress.

Let’s narrow the field down to the three female politicians who most closely match the ideal Trump criteria.  (Others like Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Nikki Haley, and Kari Lake were considered but eliminated after being vetted for the ideal V.P. criteria.)

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Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota:

• Born November 30, 1971; wife, mother of three, grandmother of two.

• When her father was killed in a farm machinery accident in 1994, she left college to run the family farm, to which she added a hunting lodge and restaurant; earned a political science degree while serving in Congress.

• In 2010, after serving two terms (the second as assistant majority leader) as a member of the S.D. House, she was elected for four terms as South Dakota’s well respected representative to the U.S. House.

• Elected as S.D. governor in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 with the largest vote total in S.D. history.

• Has a proven record of effectiveness as S.D. governor; resisted shutting down her state during the COVID-19 pandemic.