OPINION:
Since former President Donald Trump surpassed the requisite number of delegates to secure the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the political pundit class has turned its attention to speculating about the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket.
The one thing we know about Mr. Trump’s vice presidential shortlist is that his erstwhile veep, Mike Pence, isn’t on it now.
If he was ever in the running, Mr. Pence surely took himself out of contention when he gratuitously declared in a Fox News Channel interview Friday that he “could not in good conscience” support Mr. Trump’s bid to return to the Oval Office. He cited their disagreement over the circumstances of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol dustup along with a few policy differences.
The former vice president declined to say whether he would cast his ballot for Mr. Trump in the November election. Mr. Pence did say, however, “I would never vote for Joe Biden.” One would certainly hope not.
President Biden has left the border wide open, allowing millions of illegal aliens to stream in. His boundless spending spree is now impoverishing the middle class through inflation. In this context, the last thing the country needs is a disgruntled Republican helping the current administration keep these reckless policies in place another four years.
A seasoned political hand like Mr. Pence surely knew that Mr. Biden and his Democratic allies are certain to use his words against Mr. Trump and his running mate — whoever it is — this fall.
The most-mentioned potential running mates are former GOP primary rivals: entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Other options include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida. A wild card in the mix is four-term ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii — a former Democrat who like former President Ronald Reagan insists that she didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the party left her.
With nothing positive to run on, Mr. Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats are telegraphing that they will demagogue the issue of abortion this fall in pursuit of the suburban women’s vote. The pro-abortion side is emboldened by a series of red state voter referendum wins on the issue, as happened in Ohio, Kansas and Kentucky.
That means there’s no escaping the issue for the prospective GOP running mate, who will have to articulate a pro-life position defensible to the current electorate. Presumably, a running mate would need to be comfortable with exceptions for rape and incest and to preserve the life of the mother. Abortion bans before 12 weeks of pregnancy, including “heartbeat” bills, would likely be off the table.
As much as abortion opponents might wish it were otherwise — they’re not wrong in seeking to end the barbaric practice — more unborn lives will be lost if the Biden-Harris team remains in the White House past January.
Since it’s still early in the game, Mr. Trump can take his time in making his decision. The Republican convention doesn’t take place until mid-July, giving him the freedom to give the selection process the time it takes to find a replacement veep without the sour grapes.
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