OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News contributor Geraldo Rivera is in hot water again with critics, this time over a hot take he posted to Twitter suggesting that the country could face turmoil if former President Donald Trump loses the 2024 presidential election.
“Donald Trump was a grossly underrated and unfairly besieged president. I will not vote for him in 2024-not because of what he did in office-but what he did after he lost the election. In 2024 the danger to the Republic will not be if he wins. It will be if he loses,” Rivera tweeted.
Donald Trump was a grossly underrated and unfairly besieged president.
I will not vote for him in 2024-not because of what he did in office-but what he did after he lost the election.
In 2024 the danger to the Republic will not be if he wins. It will be if he loses.— Geraldo Rivera (@GeraldoRivera) January 31, 2023
Many on social media slammed Rivera for his comments, with some even calling for him to be fired.
You need to be fired immediately
— RizoPay (@RizoPayTV) January 31, 2023
All 5 of Geraldos followers give a damn what he thinks
— Steve Burdick (@LumberZoo) January 31, 2023
give us all a break Geraldo
— nicky (@nicspadaro) February 1, 2023
He's going to win again in 2024. And this time, he knows politics far better than before. Keep underestimating him.
— ranman (@ranmansanfran) February 1, 2023
I think you ended that tweet with a very strong reason TO vote for him.
— Hodag 🇺🇸 (@Galatians446) February 1, 2023
Trump announced in November that he was making another run for the White House. The 45th president filed the formal paperwork and told a crowd at Mar-a-Lago that “America’s comeback starts right now.”
While Trump settled the issue of whether he would run again, new questions emerged about who he may choose as a running mate. Politico previously reported that according to an unnamed Trump adviser, the former president is likely to choose a running mate “from three general lanes of candidates: women, conservatives of color, or a trusted adviser.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is setting herself up to become Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, according to one of the former president’s one-time top advisers.
“War Room” podcast host Steve Bannon said in an interview this week with NBC News: “This is no shrinking violet, she’s ambitious — she’s not shy about that, nor should she be. … She sees herself on the shortlist for Trump’s VP.”
When Greene “looks in the mirror, she sees a potential president smiling back,” Bannon noted further.
NEWS: MTG wants to be Trump VP
“She sees herself on the short list,” Steve Bannon told NBC.
A second source who has advised her said her “whole vision” is to get on the ticket.
This explains the *why* of her oft-chronicled recent rebrand efforts.
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) January 25, 2023
NBC News noted further:
A second source who has advised Greene said her “whole vision is to be vice president.” The source, who has ties to Trump but spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations, said he also believes Greene would be on Trump’s short list.
That goal is at the heart of Greene’s recent efforts to rebrand herself as a politician who can stand astride the divide between the party’s hard-liners and its establishment wing, the sources told NBC News.
“She’s both strategic and disciplined — she made a power move, knowing it would run up hard against her most ardent crew,” Bannon added. “She was prepared to take the intense heat/hatred short-term for the long-term goal of being a player.”
NBC News noted further: “Her push for McCarthy alienated some of her allies in the House Freedom Caucus and like-minded conservative activists, but that was a calculated risk, according to Bannon. Trump has not publicly given any indication that he is seriously considering a vice-presidential pick at this early point in the process, and aides did not respond to NBC News’ inquiries about Greene’s chances of ending up on a Trump ticket.”
This isn’t the first time Greene’s name has been mentioned as a potential Trump running mate.
In October, New York Times Magazine writer Robert Draper appeared on MSNBC, saying that the firebrand Georgia Republican has told him that she may be on the ticket with Trump next year.
“To be fair, it’s very likely that Trump has had this conversation with half a dozen other people too,” he told host Ali Velshi, adding that Greene, however, may have something other GOP women don’t.
“What Greene possesses that Trump so craves is loyalty. She has always been there for Trump. She has always had his back and after his experience with his last running mate, Mike Pence, it’s clear that he’s going to prize loyalty above all else, so I wouldn’t count it out,” he said.
When Draper spoke to The Daily Beast’s “New Abnormal” podcast previously, he said “that Greene had risen quickly in her first term in Congress by using the same tactics she honed as a right-wing social media influencer harassing Democratic staffers, and she could shoot to the second-highest office in government,” Raw Story reported.
Draper went on to say that Trump has been seriously discussing Greene as a potential VP since February.
“[Trump] has every reason to expect that Greene would be by his side and would be his proximate warrior” through thick and thin, Draper noted further.
