Don veepstakes ‘Apprentice’
Aparade of contestants has shown up for the new series of “The Apprentice” at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds all starred in this week’s episode in which contestants vie to be Donald Trump’s running mate as he endures the indignities of Manhattan DA “Fat Alvin” Bragg’s hush money trial.
“I do have a lot of surrogates and they are speaking very beautifully,” Trump told reporters.
In previous episodes, they’ve gone to Mar-a-Lago to audition for the role of vice presidential candidate or appeared on television with pithy attacks on lawfare.
Burgum shot to Number 1 favorite in bookmakers’ rankings after he appeared alongside Trump at the GOP candidate’s weekend Wildwood, NJ, rally.
But as fans of the original NBC series starring Trump from 2004 to 2017 — billed as “The Ultimate Job Interview” — will know, the winner is not always evident halfway through a season. Sometimes it was the person you least expected or a dark horse you hadn’t noticed.
This season’s prize is extra special. Not only does the winner get to be VP, but they will also begin running for president in just two years since Trump is limited to one final term.
So the field is wide and competition is stiff, and Trump genuinely doesn’t seem to have made up his mind. While he has been urged to choose a woman or a black candidate to boost his appeal to those groups, he has told friends he does not care about demographics as long as he can find the right person.
Emerging candidate
He’s believed to be looking for somebody who can help him get elected, raise (or donate) lots of money, ideally is from a swing state, is loyal, and can be a great president to carry on his legacy for another eight years. He also has a showman’s eye for optics, so the perfect person has to present well.
None fulfills all the criteria so Trump continues to take advice.
But out of the glare of the cameras, a couple of phenomenal dark-horse contestants quietly strutted their stuff in New York this week, pressing the flesh with Republican donors: Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Both have expressed a willingness to serve in a second Trump administration.
Of the two, Hagerty seems to be the most probable VP pick. Pompeo is more likely to return to his successful role in the Trump administration, where he oversaw the Abraham Accords, took out the father of the roadside bomb, Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and managed to keep a lid on world conflict.
Hagerty, 64, a successful businessman before he became Trump’s ambassador to Japan and successfully wrangled a tough trade deal, satisfies all of Trump’s criteria — except he’s from a safe red state. Apart from that, he is the perfect “Apprentice President.”
The son of a road-construction worker and the first male in his family to attend college, the selfmade multimillionaire has a beautiful wife and four photogenic children, and would blitz the veep’s responsibilities, starting with running the transition. He has been involved with transition teams for three Republican presidential campaigns, including Trump’s in 2016. From his extensive business travel and ambassadorial role, he has the foreignpolicy chops necessary to deal easily with world leaders and has shown tough negotiation skills in his dealing with the Japanese.
As a business leader, first at Boston Consulting Group and then in private equity, he has the management skills to execute projects the president needs doing. He is a courtly gentleman in control of his ego who gets along well with Trump.
In terms of competence, you could hardly find a bigger contrast to Kamala Harris.
Trump doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to choose a winner, but you can bet Hagerty will end up near the top of the list.