Posted on 08/22/2015 2:56:03 PM PDT by conservativejoy
The rumor mill is churning full force on who Donald Trump will choose for his VP. I have now heard leaks from both the Trump camp and from Cruz’s that Ted Cruz is being considered as a VP choice for The Donald. They met at Trump’s office in New York City last month and have met approximately four times outside of that meeting. The two are friends and have very nice things to say about each other. They agree on most issues, especially immigration.
Ben Carson is also on the short list and Trump’s ex-aide, Roger Stone, is vetting Carson independently. This should be interesting. Can you imagine the meltdowns from both sides of the political aisle? It would be a brilliant political move. If Trump chooses Cruz, you would have a melding of the two most popular conservative campaigns out there and they would be virtually unstoppable as a team. The crowds would be staggering and the landslide win would be historic. As a bennie, it would just scare the living crap out of Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. Now that would be must-see TV.
From the Daily Mail:
Leading Republican candidate for the White House Donald Trump hasn’t officially begun scouting running mates – the first primary is still six months away.
Two of his 2016 competitors come to mind for the position, however: Ben Carson and Ted Cruz.
Trump’s campaign said he has ‘cordial’ relationships with both men based on ‘mutual respect.’
An ex-aide to Trump, Roger Stone, was also seen meeting with Carson’s campaign chief Jake Menges yesterday in New York. Stone says he did not set up the meeting at the behest of Trump, however.
Stone told DailyMail.com that he believes in ‘citizen action’ and met with Menges of his own volition because he thinks Carson would be a good fit on a Trump ticket.
He stressed that the meet-up was ‘not authorized’ by Trump and he no longer works for the real estate mogul.
‘I love him. I love him,’ he said, ‘but I’m not working for him.’
Trump and Stone parted ways two weeks ago over disagreements about the direction of the campaign. Stone says he resigned. Trump says he was fired. Whatever the case, the end result is that Stone is now a free agent.
‘I answer only to myself,’ he said today.
Even though he is no longer affiliated with Trump’s campaign for president, he still wants to see him in the Oval Office.
He’s stepped in as an unofficial surrogate for Trump, making multiple media appearances this week to defend his controversial immigration plan that would end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
‘I will go anywhere, do anything I can to promote the election of Donald Trump,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Trump, he says, ‘is the only man with the fortitude and the vision and the passion to take on a corrupted political system.’
‘The system’s broken, both parties are in on it. Our government’s controlled by the special interests,’ the ex-lobbyist and alum of Richard Nixon’s administration said. ‘I’ve seen the system up close, it’s broken. It’s corrupted.’
Stone, who noted that he’s had a hand in eight presidential elections, has taken it upon himself to begin vetting a No. 2 for Trump.
‘I don’t think that Donald has thought about a running mate yet, and frankly it would be presumptuous for him to do so,’ Stone said. ‘He’s focused on winning the nomination, and then winning the election.’
Still, he added, ‘it’s never too early to start thinking about the big picture.’
Trump has openly praised Cruz and Carson, telling NH1 after he was asked about possible running mates, ‘I like Ted Cruz. I like Dr. Carson. They’ve been very supportive of me.’
He’s also said he’d like to have Oprah at his side.
‘I think Oprah would be great. I’d love to have Oprah,’ Trump said in a June appearance on ABC News. ‘I think we’d win easily, actually.’
Trump said last week that he’d ‘consider’ sticking a woman on the ticket, as well.
‘I am all for the concept. It would have to be the right person, and I’m not going to go into who that would be right now,’ he said told the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘But I have great respect for women. I have great respect for women who are executives in my company. I have great respect for women’s judgment.’
A Washington outsider like Trump, Carly Fiorina has been suggested as someone who fits that bill.
The Carson campaign did not return DailyMail.com’s request for comment on the matter, but Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who hails from Baltimore, Maryland, and has never held political office before, either, has said he’d likewise consider adding Trump to his team should he become the nominee.
‘All things are possible. Absolutely,’ he said during an interview with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto earlier this summer after complimenting Trump as ‘a very smart’ and ‘fun guy.’
Cruz met with the billionaire businessman last month in New York City, and a senior adviser to Trump told DailyMail.com the two had planned to visit the United States’ border with Mexico together in July.
A scheduling conflict -Senate votes – prevented the Texas senator from hosting Trump, however.
A spokesman for Cruz says the lawmaker proposed the border trip during their meeting at Trump Tower in New York.
‘We were talking about immigration and then Ted said to Mr. Trump, “you should come to the Texas border. Be my guest and we’ll go together,” ‘ spokesman Rick Tyler told the Washington Post.
A sources close to Trump told the Daily Beast says that the Republican politicians talk on the occasionally and have gotten together four other times aside from the Trump Tower visit.
Cruz has had nothing but praise for Trump throughout the campaign and is backing his immigration plan. He said yesterday on the Michael Medved radio show that he too believed that 14th amendment’s guarantee of automatic citizenship should be limited to children who parents are legal U.S. residents.
‘I welcome Donald Trump’s immigration proposal. Virtually every element in the proposal he submitted is contained within legislation that I filed years ago in the Untied States Senate.’
Of Trump’s candidacy, Cruz said, ‘I’m glad he’s in the race and he manages to attract a lot of attention and actually to force the media to talk about issue that the media should have been talking about, in particular illegal immigration.’
Just the whisper of this playing out is causing the RINOs to wet themselves. My vote is still for Ted Cruz, but if Trump is the nominee, I would relish voting for him. And if he is smart, and I know he is, he will do what the Cruz Coalition has suggested and start putting together his cabinet as Ronald Reagan did. Cruz is also doing this. Donald Trump is so far ahead in the field, he can literally choose whomever he wants for his VP. Carson is great, but has little political experience. Cruz is wildly popular among conservatives and there is an argument to be made that the two campaigns are already working together. It’s politically savvy to team up – whichever comes out on top will get the other’s supporters and maybe the dynamic duo will just own the White House together.
As veep candidate on a Trump ticket Uncle Ben would bring little to no professional organizational cadre, no heavy-hitting corporate or individual financial backing, no recognizable voting base.....and a too-small home-state electoral vote (Maryland-10 votes vs. Cruz's 38-Texas).
Plus, if Jeb is considered by Trump to be "low-energy", he (Bush) looks like a human dynamo compared to His Sweetness, Ben Carson.
In short, the ticket will be put together by Trump along with his staff of hardened, steely-eyed professionals who play all the angles to win.....and the ticket will not be fashioned by emotions nor by political romantics who are understandably taken by Ben's intellect, his understated style and his warm smile.
Leni
Nicely stated.
You’re hardly alone in that prediction, Cruz met with Trump “secretly” so obviously he must be getting ready to bend his knee and swear his allegiance.
Here is hoping the Presidential nomination will make solid appointments to cabinet. Bonus points for appointing anyone that makes the left’s, including the left leaning GOP’s,heads explode!
Of course,for VP you he would pick someone who could be a successor. Someone who could carry on for an additional 8 years!
Someone who actually wants to make America ...well, great!
This election should be Cruz'. I cannot believe so many conservatives trust Donald Trump.
I like Carson. If he believes in a free market health care system with a safety net, he might be a good one to create it with Trump. On the other hand, I love Cruz. He’s a successful constitutional lawyer and could keep Trump and his deal makers out of trouble under the law. He’s for the constitution and understands it...not so sure Trump does. I doubt Carson has been brain washed with the NWO nonsense. Not so sure about Cruz...but you can’t be for the NWO and for the US constitution at the same time. One needs to kill the other.
Cruz would be of the most use to Trump on a practical and political level, I think. He knows how the Congress operates; where sins are hidden... Carson knows nothing about operating in that insanity. He’s sane. Works on brains and has brains. Cruz has a birth cert. with his American mom’s name on it and is shown to be American, unlike Obama’s mess so maybe that will pass Trump’s worries about qualification.
This is a once or twice removed Trump mind f for the other candidates and their donors. It’s inevitable...donchaknow?! Already meeting about VP possibilities.
Trump is meeting with Cruz and the one who ran off the rails with Trump and got fired is talking to Carson... Like Carson would talk with him w/o Trump’s okay and association.
Sounds like a reality show.
Nope, West for SecDef!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.