OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
With speculation ripe that former President Donald Trump will run for president in 2024, rumors are beginning to surface about who he may choose as his possible running mate.
If Trump decides to run again, the media narrative thus far is that he will likely select a female running mate.
Several recent reports seem focused on one name: New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
In a new piece from Foreign Policy, titled, “Elise Stefanik Is Most Likely to Succeed,” the authors’ detail, “A young woman once hailed as the future of the Republican Party embraces Trumpism to stay that way.”
“At 30 years old, Stefanik had been the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress in 2014. At a time when the party sought to reach a younger and more diverse pool of voters, she was hailed as the future of the Republican Party,” the report begins.
“Having hitched her cart firmly to Trump, Stefanik looks to have as bright a future within the Republican Party as when she was first elected to Congress eight years ago. She endorsed his still hypothetical candidacy for 2024—and has already been tipped as a potential running mate,” the story notes.
“While the former president and his progeny have repeatedly hinted that a third run for the White House may be in the works, some longtime conservative observers see the beginnings of a post-Trump future in the strategies of rising stars such as DeSantis, the Florida governor, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Both DeSantis and Youngkin have toed a careful line, neither embracing the former president nor the suicide vest of never-Trumpism,” it adds.
Back in late May, CNN published a report speculating that New York Rep. Elise Stefanik is likely a frontrunner.
While talk about a 2024 vice-presidential pick is of course premature, conversations about adding Stefanik to a future Trump ticket have gained steam in recent weeks at Mar-a-Lago and in other Republican circles, sources said. Current and former advisers and others in Trump’s orbit have privately argued that the New York Republican, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney as the no. 3 House Republican last year, is a fierce and loyal attack dog, and Trump would benefit from tapping a woman for vice president should he run again.
Two people familiar with the matter said Trump has been surveying close friends and allies on what they think of Stefanik, one of several Republican women he is possibly eyeing for the potential VP slot, though he has not ruled out a few male contenders, too. One of these people said the former President believes Stefanik has undergone a genuine transformation – leaving the moderate wing of the party to join its increasingly powerful “America First” flank.
“There is a part of Trump who thinks he needs a female VP. He definitely likes her, likely because of how effusive she is to him,” an adviser to the former president said.
“President Trump thinks very highly of Elise Stefanik. … She has been talked about in circles close to him as a potential vice president,” Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said. “And there’s a feeling among a lot of people on the Republican side that they need to have a woman on the ticket this time.”
Our southern border has had more illegal crossings in the past 19 months under President Biden than in EIGHT YEARS of the Obama administration.
House GOP has made a commitment to a nation that’s safe—and that starts with securing our southern border to end this crisis.
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) September 19, 2022
I was proud to lead 100 of my colleagues in demanding answers from credit card companies' attempt to infringe on our #2A rights!
In the face of this unconstitutional anti-gun agenda, I will always stand up for New Yorkers and all Americans’ #2A rights!https://t.co/WKpSw5AIaz
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) September 17, 2022
I am opposed to ANY attempt to create a national gun registry and infringe on our #2A rights!
I was proud to lead 100 of my colleagues demanding answers from credit card companies tracking gun purchases.https://t.co/cp3vzrKRNK
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) September 16, 2022
The implementation of CRT by any other name in New York classrooms is wrong.
I’m continuing my charge for transparency about New York’s use of federal COVID dollars to institute radical, racist theories in the classroom.
MORE in @dailycaller 👇👇👇https://t.co/DBMwTAZeVz
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) September 16, 2022
