Democrats are planning a media assault on former President Trump’s large group of potential running mate picks, hoping to paint the group as extremist, “ultra-MAGA” Republicans.
Trump has offered few clues about who he intends to select, leaving the group of roughly a half-dozen major candidates pushing to set themselves apart. Democrats are looking to paint the candidates with the same brush, however, arguing they would all effectively be the same, Axios reported Wednesday.
The Democrats, with their reported “Trump’s MAGA Veepstakes” plan, look to focus on key issues like election denial, abortion, healthcare and tax cuts. No major Trump VP candidates have split with him regarding his view of the outcome of the 2020 election, and Republicans remain widely supportive of the tax cuts under the Trump administration.
Trump has backed down somewhat on abortion, balking at Republicans who support a federal 15 or 20-week abortion ban. He instead argues each individual state should be allowed to determine its own abortion laws.
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Democrats are universally pushing to re-impose Roe v. Wade’s standards through federal legislation, however.
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Top contenders for Trump’s VP pick have adopted a number of strategies to stand out. Some, like North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy, have gone so far as to attend Trump’s New York criminal trial in Manhattan.
A number of other big names have been floated to join Trump on the Republican ticket, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Trump, who spent most of the past month sitting on trial in a New York City courtroom while President Biden and Vice President Harris are free to hit the campaign trail, is still weighing his running mate options. He suggested last week he might even wait until the July Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to name his pick.
Trump and Biden agreed to plans for a debate, however, and those plans include a clash between Harris and Trump’s eventual running mate.
