That’s how Trump characterized his VP search on a radio show today. He was lying about it being highly sophisticated but it is very much like the Apprentice which Trump thinks is what politics is all about.
The news is all over the choice right now. Is it going to be Vance? Well, Don Jr, his most fervent supporter will be speaking right before the announcement at the convention so… On the other hand, Doug Burgum is right out of Central Casting. he looks like he could be on the three dollar bill! And then there’s Li’l Marco who I think everyone knows Trump is just fucking with.
The thing that none of the media is talking about is the fact that Trump is choosing a new VP in the first place? He had one, remember? And he was the most adoring sycophant any narcissistic megalomaniac could ever hope for. Why isn’t he on the ticket again?
Well, we know why, don’t we? And not only isn’t he on the ticket he and most of Trump’s former cabinet are refusing to endorse him. That is the important context within which this exciting “Apprentice VP search is happening. The media should make sure they mention that whenever they talk about it. But they won’t and that’s a problem.
As Matthew Gertz at Media Matters points out:
[W]hile the contenders have various pluses and minuses, they share two qualities. They all looked at what happened on January 6 and decided they were still willing to take the VP slot, and they’ve all spent the last several months publicly supplicating to Trump by winking at 2020 election denial and pooh-poohing questions of whether they would accept the results of the 2024 race.
Trump’s coup failed because brave Republicans — Pence above all — were willing to put their loyalty to the Constitution over their personal loyalty to Trump. By definition, anyone who wants to be his vice president today is saying they would make a different choice. Journalists should keep those stakes front and center as they cover Trump’s running mate pick.
That’s a big part of the story. It’s even interesting and exciting. Why won’t the media tell it?