Donald Trump has yet to choose a running mate for his third attempt at winning the White House. But he seems to have at least one litmus test for anyone hoping to play Mike Pence in a second Trump administration: You cannot say you will accept the results of the 2024 election.
Trump has not yet made this clear, although he has said he will not commit to honoring the results in November. “If everything is honest, I will happily accept the results. I don’t change that,” the former president said in a statement. recent interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “If not, you have to fight for the rights of the country.” We know, from the 2020 election, that for Trump, anything short of a Trump victory is tantamount to fraud. He also said he would not rule out the possibility of political violence. “It always depends on the fairness of an election,” he told Time magazine in another article. recent interview.
Trump doesn’t need to say anything else; All the Republicans competing on his side understood that they would lose if they accepted the basic democratic rule that a loss cannot be overturned after the fact. Asked repeatedly whether he would accept the results of the 2024 election, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina — one of the leading candidates in the race to become Trump’s running mate — would just repeat a single, rehearsed statement. “Finally, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump.”
(Watching Scott’s performance, half expected him to also tell his interlocutor, “Donald Trump is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I have ever known. in life.”)
Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota avoided similar questions, telling CNN that there were “a lot of irregularities” in the 2020 election and saying he was “looking forward to next January when Vice President Harris certifies the election.” Vote for Donald Trump. ”
The other vice presidential candidates have not yet had a chance to show Trump their allegiance to his election denialism. People think that if they are given the opportunity they will do it.
The obvious point to emphasize here is that Scott and Burgum represent the strength of Trump’s hold on the Republican Party. The less obvious point is that by essentially demanding this particular ideological commitment from prospective vice presidential candidates, Trump is actually breaking with political tradition.
First, let’s talk about the position of vice president. The office itself is one of the clearest examples of constitutional review in the American political system.
Although the framers of the Constitution devoted considerable time and attention to the presidency—its role, its structure, its methods of election—there is little evidence of any specific discussion. anything related to the position of vice president.
“In short,” observes political scientist Jody C. Baumgartner in “Vice President of the United States: From Shadows to Limelight,” “it appears that the framers of the constitution did not intentionally create a vice presidency as part of the constitution.” management chart.” Instead, the vice presidency emerged as a natural solution to a series of problems: Who would take charge of the government if the president was not available? Who will resolve the tie in the Senate? And how can we force presidential electors to vote for a candidate who is not their state’s favored son?
The vice presidency comes with a number of listed responsibilities that reflect the extent to which it was inserted into the constitutional system as a last-minute addition. “The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate,” the Constitution states, “but shall have no right to vote, unless they be equally divided.” Additionally, “In the event of the President’s removal from office or his death, resignation or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said Office, the same shall be transferred to the Vice President. ”
That’s it. This role no longer exists, even after subsequent Constitutional amendments clarified the duties of the vice president. One consequence of this is that the vice president’s power, prestige, and influence fluctuate with each American political season. Broadly speaking, the vice president was a relatively minor figure in American politics for most of the 19th century and into the 20th – there’s a reason that Harry Truman described most vice presidents as “as useful as the fifth teat of the cow” – and one that had much greater influence in the postwar period, when the responsibilities and influence of the office grew along with those of the presidency.
But although the vice presidency has a limited role in running the country – except in cases when the vice president ascends to the main office due to tragedy or misfortune – the vice presidency is on the presidential ticket. system often plays an important role. enough electoral significance to give real weight to the choice.
For political parties and their presidential candidates, the vice presidential nomination has traditionally been an opportunity to “balance” the ticket, whether geographically, ideologically or experientially.
There are a few famous examples. The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln, a moderate from Illinois, pairing him with Hannibal Hamlin, a radical Republican from Maine. The Democratic Party nominated John F. Kennedy, the young progressive senator from Massachusetts, pairing him with Lyndon B. Johnson, the “president of the Senate” from Texas. More recently, Ronald Reagan’s selection of George H.W. Bush was an attempt to bridge the gap between conservative and moderate Republicans, while Barack Obama’s selection of Joe Biden provides more contrast: about age, experience and race.
Trump applied the logic of balance in his first campaign, choosing Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as a sign of his commitment to the interests of conservative ideologies and the priorities of conservative evangelicals, especially on abortion and the federal judiciary. If he accepts the logic of balance a second time, he will choose a running mate who distances himself from the MAGA movement, someone who can appear to be a “normal” Republican, unconcerned with the The most extreme pledge involves Trump.
That almost certainly won’t happen. Whether it’s Scott or Burgum or Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio or even notorious dog-killing Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Trump will choose loyalty – not to a set of ideas or to the Republican Party, but his absolute right to hold power, with or without the consent of the governed. And this vice president will have to do what Pence won’t do: keep Trump in office no matter what the Constitution says.
The vice presidency may have been an afterthought for the framers of the constitution; they didn’t think this role would make much sense. The vice presidency is certainly not an afterthought for Trump; To him, it meant everything.
