May 16, 2016

"The @washingtonpost report on potential VP candidates is wrong. Marco Rubio and most others mentioned are NOT under consideration."

Tweeted Trump.

Here's the WaPo article, mentioning Ben Carson, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and Chris Christie.

Since Trump said "most" of the others, in addition to Rubio, were not under consideration, we may infer that at least one is. I presume if it's one, it's Kasich.

53 comments:

David said...

Hey we have a theme. Bad reporting by "great" newspapers.

I think Trump is letting the VP thing come forward a bit too early. Would love to see him pick a woman. (It worked so well for McCain.)

My career did not involve giving high level political advice.

MadisonMan said...

I think, when Trump is tweeting about the Post, that he should include Bezos' name.

"Bezos' @washingtonpost report..." It's only 3 extra characters.

Phil 314 said...

"It worked so well for McCain."

I believe he lost.

Chuck said...

So what Trump is really saying is that Dennis Rodman, Gary Busey, Iron Mike Tyson and Charlie Sheen still have a chance.

https://mobile.twitter.com/charliesheen/status/636971482438959104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Tom said...

I Trump can land Kasich, he wins. I doubt Kasich goes for it.

knox said...

He would be dumb not to BEG Kasich to be vp.

>>insert avalanche of follow-ups responding that Trump IS dumb<<

Limited blogger said...

Trump should hold an Apprentice-like competition for the job! We have time for 7 or 8 episodes before the convention. America is getting greater already.

knox said...

I doubt Kasich goes for it.

yup

Paddy O said...

Carson sure jumped on the Trump bandwagon quickly, surprising almost all of his supporters. Just saying...

mockturtle said...

When I first heard about the 'list' I was skeptical for a number of reasons. Has the Washington Post lost all credibility?

mockturtle said...

I doubt Kasich goes for it.

We'll see whether pride or ambition wins out. My guess is the latter. After all, Kasich can say that he is doing it to 'unify the party' and 'for the good of the country'.

bbkingfish said...

I think Trump's first V-P move will be to offer the job to Hillary Clinton.

If Hillary demurs, then it's Bernie Sanders.

WisRich said...

I agree with other commentors: It should be Kasich.

He only stayed in the race to make sure Cruz didn't win and for the most part withheld any vicious attacks against Trump.

Besides, they're both have huge ego's, are closet Democrats, and Trump needs Ohio. They're perfect for each other.

eric said...

I think it's Sarah Palin.

Hagar said...

I think you assume wrongly.
And Trump is not limited to WaPo's list of potential candidates "being considered."

Gusty Winds said...

I doubt Kasich goes for it.

Kasich has been mentioned as being one of the people that Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol have courted to run third party. I don't think Kasich would go for that especially after this weekends GOP Party smack down of #nevertrump Senator Ben Sasse who is also on their list.

I agree with the Professor. Kasich has to be on the list.

1) Ohio
2) He could actually be President
3) Polls well against Hillary
4) He would accept. Not many more opportunities for him to get into the Executive Branch.

There is no way Cruz in on the list. Palin either. Christie could get Attorney General.

With the NYT and Wash Post stuff this morning, it makes you wonder if Trump is somehow setting up the papers with false information so he can smack them down later.

Chuck said...

If Trump/Kasich won the general election, when would the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begin in the Senate? How soon do they reconvene after Inauguration Day? Besides Jeff Sessions. -- and I'm not certain about him -- is there anybody in the Senate who wouldn't vote to impeach Trump in favor of Vice President Kasich? Senator Cruz might want to vote twice. Senator Graham might try to vote three times.

In fact, this scenario would be the converse of Senator Graham's joke about a fictional murder of Cruz in the floor of the Senate; wherein a trial in the Senate would produce not a single vote to acquit. I can't imagine a single Senator voting to acquit an impeached President Trump, with a Vice President Kasich waiting in the West Wing.

Quaestor said...

Trump is already looking stronger than Hillary in Ohio, so why tap Kasich? What does Kasich bring to the table that isn't there already? Executive experience? Trump's selling point is his executive experience. A block of loyal voters? Possibly, Kasich won his home state's primary, however the polls indicate Trump doesn't need Kasich to carry Ohio in the November. Outside Ohio his contribution would be minimal given his distant third place finish. Another reason to choose a running mate (i.e. according to the pundits) is legislative experience to aid the presumptive President in his relations with Congress. Kasich doesn't offer that, does he? One surmises that, given the conventional reasoning on these matters, the logical choice would be Cruz. Legislative experience? Check. Block of loyal voters? Check. Unfortunately Cruz chained himself to a corpse when he accepted the endorsement of the lunatic Glenn Beck, which makes him the flagon with the dragon.

Trump needs a broader base. He's already gathered a sizable minority of Black support (Diamond and Silk, et al.) which he could cement with a gesture such as Dr. Carson. However, Carson brings nothing else but melanin and an agreeable personality, no legislative experience (granted most senators need brain surgery, but even skilled neurosurgeon with a gavel isn't properly equipped to operate). Carson also has that unfortunate religiocity thing that also hobbles Cruz. Therefore I conclude that Carson is the name from the Post's list under consideration. However since trusting the WaPo on the subject of Trump is like trusting Ricky Roma with your best leads one can safely trash the whole thing. Trump's veep will be Mia Love.

Quaestor said...

If Trump/Kasich won the general election, when would the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begin in the Senate?

I hope this is a setup for a long and tedious attempt at a joke, because otherwise it's just lunatic ramblings.

pm317 said...

Trump comes off as petty in this process. He was quick to say with emphasis on another program, that Nikki Haley was not under consideration. He seems to hold a grudge and sort of making a list. Make a list but why publicize it if not to humiliate the other person for not supporting him?

Big Mike said...

I hope he's considering Cruz, because Trump needs the on-the-ground organization that Cruz built up.

Chuck said...

Quaestor; you may think of that impeachment scenario as a joke, and it will not bother me in the slightest.

Have a nice day!


pm317 said...

Big Mike, on the ground organization is the first set of jobs he will create for his supporters!

Hagar said...

From his record so far, I think the one sure thing about Trump is that he is not gong to do what the wise guys (and dolls) say he has to do.

damikesc said...

If it's Kasich, then #NeverTrump is hardened. Fuck John Kasich, that shit Quisling.

I Trump can land Kasich, he wins. I doubt Kasich goes for it.

Kasich kept running to protect Trump (his dropping out hours after Cruz did wasn't an accident).

I don't think Kasich would go for that especially after this weekends GOP Party smack down of #nevertrump

Kasich was absolutely not #NeverTrump. He ran on BEHALF of Trump at the end.

I agree with the Professor. Kasich has to be on the list.

1) Ohio
2) He could actually be President
3) Polls well against Hillary
4) He would accept. Not many more opportunities for him to get into the Executive Branch.


He "polls well" because nobody takes him seriously. Sanders polls really well, but if he won the nomination, he'd get obliterated. Let's be real here.

If Trump/Kasich won the general election, when would the impeachment trial of Donald Trump begin in the Senate? How soon do they reconvene after Inauguration Day? Besides Jeff Sessions. -- and I'm not certain about him -- is there anybody in the Senate who wouldn't vote to impeach Trump in favor of Vice President Kasich? Senator Cruz might want to vote twice. Senator Graham might try to vote three times.

Given that Kasich fucked him over, why the heck would Cruz want him as President? He has all of Obama's worst qualities. Again, read up on the shit he pulled with the Medicaid expansion. I'd rather they stick Bush in there instead of Kasich.

Brando said...

I'd guess Rubio and Cruz are out, not because they took a shot at Trump, but because they took a shot and missed. It'd also be harder to walk back a lot of what they'd said about him--this wasn't a matter of "I disagree with this policy" or "I'd make a better president than this person" but rather "this guy is twisted, has no moral compass, and is completely unqualified." You can't really walk that back.

I'm still predicting Haley, or someone who would give him a positive news cycle and inoculate him somewhat against charges of bigotry and anti-woman bias (not that picking a female minority as VP automatically does that, but it helps push back on the narrative).

I'd be shocked if he picked Palin. One person who flies by the seat of his pants is one thing, if the whole ticket went rogue it would be a mad house. Plus, he said he wanted government experience--he'd want someone who's at least in their second term as governor, or a longtime legislator.

machine said...

Sarah Palin?!?!?!


oh please oh please oh please...

mockturtle said...

It's not Kasich's executive experience but his congressional experience that would help Trump. By Trump's own admission he needs a lot of help in that department.

Quaestor said...

Quaestor; you may think of that impeachment scenario as a joke, and it will not bother me in the slightest.

That's not what I think it.

Dan Hossley said...

The only legitimate inference that can be drawn from this article is that the Washington Post is simply making it up. I guess they put the article in the Style section as a face saving artifice.

I can't wait to see the work product of the 20 reporters they've dedicated to investigating Donald Trump.

Michael K said...

"He would be dumb not to BEG Kasich to be vp."

Kasich, as someone else pointed out, does not offer much.

I would prefer Cruz but that train has probably left the station. Cruz could have made overtures earlier and they would make a good team. Cruz, however, has lots of enemies in Congress. My guess is that he chooses someone in Congress.

Webb would be an off-the-wall choice and might make for a landslide. I think it might be a landslide anyway.

Chuck said...

Jim Webb! Now that thar is a sho 'nuff interestin' choice!

Webb is a moderate Democrat on most things, including immigration. He is in favor of a comprehensive immigration reform solution including a pathway to citizenship (including voting rights, naturally) for current illegal immigrants. Also known as "amnesty." As a senator from the Comminwealth of Virginia, he voted for the DREAM Act as sponsored by the Obama Administration.

But maybe he likes a great big wall, too.

jg said...

Kasich may be presentable (and except for immigration, as compatible with Trump as any serious politician), but are the please-not-trump-don't-hurt-us establishment really going to get excited about it?

I don't know anything about Webb. Choosing a Dem (the kind who actually has American interests at heart) is a nice play and could do something to actually get some of those 40% of bernie-primary-voters who say now they'd choose Trump over Hillary.

I'll credit Trump with more courage than Obama: he won't select an obvious "don't assassinate me" shield.

Chuck said...

I'm curious; who would rate as a Biden-like "Don't assassinate me!" veep pick for the Trumpster?

I can think of only a few names scraping the bottom of that barrel:

Joe Biden.

Al Gore.

Kim Jong Un.

Sarah Palin.

Toonces the cat.

Just about anybody else, it is a tossup at best, on what would be in the long term national interest.

StephenFearby said...

For John Kasich, a Difficult Choice at the End of the Road

KAILANI KOENIG, NBCNEWS, May 14, 2016


Some excerpts:


'...Trump dubbed him "1 for 38" or "1 for 41 Kasich."'

'..."The spirit — the essence of America — lies in the hearts and souls of us. You see, some missed this message," Kasich said as he suspended his campaign last Wednesday. "It wasn't sexy. It wasn't a great sound bite."

And it most certainly wasn't what Donald Trump was selling.'

'...In contrast, Kasich generally bragged about how he didn't like to pay attention to the news, regularly telling crowds he mostly watched "60 Minutes" and the Golf Channel.'

[Choice to vote for a loser] '...In Portland, Oregon, on April 28, speaking after a tough defeat in the Northeast primary states, Kasich told the audience he had considered leaving the race, but finally admitted that he would stay in because his candidacy had become more than just about winning at that point. He wanted to offer voters "a choice," he said.'

[I cudda been a contender] '... When Kasich returned [to McKees Rocks] for a town hall the night before the Pennsylvania primary, he recalled moments from his childhood as men from the local barber shop would yell out at him, "Pope, you're going to be somebody someday!" He had the nickname "Pope" growing up since he was so dedicated to the church and dreamed of the highest positions.'


http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/john-kasich-difficult-choice-end-road-n574006


Difficult to see how this nebbish could be considered VP material.

urpower said...

Question- Would Althouse's surmises about Trump's intentions be a reliable guide?

rcocean said...

Red State's Leon Wolfe has called Trump a racist over and over.

But their new Headline calls Carson "Jar Jar Blinks"

His hypocritical in the same way the Left is. Its unclear why its still labeled a conservative website.

Sammy Finkelman said...

But Kasich is one of the people Mitt Romney is trying to convince to run for president as an third party candidate!

The one erson of thdse five who may be under consideration, of course, is Chris Christie. Ben Carson has taken himself out of consideration - he's not even running for the Senate (where it might be logical)

Sammy Finkelman said...

Kasich kept running to protect Trump (his dropping out hours after Cruz did wasn't an accident).

He decided at the airport on the Wednesday morning afer the Indianan primary when he was already on the plane to fly to West Virginia and told some people his heart wasn't in it or something to that effect.

He dropped out because his prospects always depended on there being a deadlocked convention between Trump and Cruz, and then that party leaders wouldn't want to turn to somebody who was not a contender at that stage.

The problem was that Cruz dropped out when the chances of his winning on the second ballot looked bleak. But the chances of stopping Trump weren't so bleak.

Michael K said...

"Webb is a moderate Democrat on most things, including immigration. "

VPs don't make policy with the possible exception of Cheney who should have done more of it.

Darrell said...

Let the NeverTrumpers have Kashit.
Nobody wanted him except Ohio losers.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Those five names came from a poll!! (they were the foive which polled most favorably)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/is-ben-carson-the-worst-or-the-best-surrogate-of-all-time-yes/2016/05/13/0afc3c52-17ac-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html?postshare=5341463314177503&tid=ss_tw

Ben Carson, the neurosurgeon turned presidential candidate turned unfiltered pitchman for Donald Trump and now part of the presumptive nominee’s vice presidential search committee, sat in the back of a Town Car with his wife, Candy, on his way to a televised interview. He had just explained to the reporter riding along that he wanted no role in a Trump administration when news arrived of a new poll naming him as the best-liked of a list of potential running mates.

“Who else was on the list?” he asked quietly, maintaining his usual inscrutable calm. The most favorably regarded contenders after himself, he was told, were John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and Chris Christie.

“Those are all people on our list,” he said.

“Well, not you,” Candy reminded him sharply.


I don't know how much Ben Carson knows, Maybe at one time they were on a list - of 20 or more

Sammy Finkelman said...

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-real-reason-donald-trump-is-unfit-to-be-president/article/2591147#.VznTSe9AMyI.facebook

MadisonMan said...

@Sammy Finkelman, The real reason Trump is unfit to be President is that he can't make a clickable link.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Chuck said...I can't imagine a single Senator voting to acquit an impeached President Trump, with a Vice President Kasich waiting in the West Wing.

Impeach him for...? You think the Legislative branch would impeach a newly-elected President just because they don't like him? That...that seems likely to you? Or desirable, possibly?

Captain Drano said...

I hope it's none of them.

Palin would be a disastrous pick--the level of (undeserved, but it is what it is) seething hate even moderate dem's and some indep's have for her is shocking. A great position for her would be to appoint her if/after he wins as his press secretary, and it'd be hilarious to see the MSM forced to deal with her. (Same for Newt--love him, but toxic to too many blocs. He belongs in the cabinet.)

Someone mentioned Mia Love, she's awesome, but not ready yet, no military nor international politics experience. He needs someone Condoleezza Rice level. (I think she's perfect, but don't know how she'd poll given Bush derangement syndrome.) So if it needs to be a woman and Rice declines (she has said for years she has no interest in going back to DC) then it's a call between someone like the Senator w/military experience (her name escapes me) or a Governor like Martinez.

In short, no one on that list would help Trump beat a Warren/Biden (or Biden/Warren) ticket--which is looking more likely every day.

wildswan said...

I think he should pick General Petreaus. Knows how to handle the military situation. An opposite type. Ticket balancing.

Michael K said...

From the Senate and female might be Joni Ernst, but she is still pretty junior.

Another would be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_MartinezSusanna Martinez, </a> but she has no DC experience.

Gingrich is 74. Tom Cotten is first term but has lots of military experience,

Michael K said...

A preview function would be good.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Petreaus would be an interesting in-your-face choice, keeping talk of Hillary's email hi-jinks and Obama's Middle East failures alive. Military men come with too much political baggage, though.

mockturtle said...

After watching Kasich on Anderson Cooper tonight I've decided Newt would make a better VP.

cubanbob said...

Petreaus has a criminal issue albeit it's a nothing burger compared to Hillary. So I rather doubt Trumpy will choose him.

Who Trumpy will choose is a mystery but I suspect it will be someone who has 'gravitas' and is low key and not 'scary' and looks like a reasonable guy to take over in four years. No question Trumpy has ego but he is smart enough to know when to take the money and run and for him that would one term.

Nichevo said...
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